ART lovers campaigning to keep a famous Renaissance painting in the North-East received a boost yesterday, after the Government moved to extend a ban on its export to the US.

The Duke of Northumberland intends to sell the Madonna and Child by Raphael - known as the Madonna of the Pinks - to the J Paul Getty Trust, in California, for £34,880,000.

The painting can only remain in the UK if another group makes a matching offer, minus tax.

The National Gallery, where the painting has been on loan since 1992, has offered £21m, but the duke believes this is £8m short.

Culture Secretary Tessa Jowell MP put a seven-month block on the sale to the Getty Trust earlier this year. However, this runs out on Wednesday and she has been unable to reach a decision and the ban could be extended.

A spokesman for the Department of Culture, Media and Sport said: "Depending on what the minister's decision is, it may be appropriate to allow a further fixed deferral period before she makes her final decision on whether to grant an export licence."

So far, the Heritage Lottery Fund has awarded £11.5m to help the gallery buy the painting and £9.5m has been pledged through public appeal.

The Madonna of the Pinks is thought to have been completed in Florence in about 1507 or 1508, just before Raphael left to start work in Rome. It was acquired by the fourth Duke of Northumberland in 1853.

Yesterday, the present duke defended his decision to sell.

He said: "We are selling our most valuable asset to create a fund that will generate a yearly income.

"That is why we need to receive the true market value, otherwise, with investment returns being lower than they were, the fund we need will not generate sufficient annual income and we may be forced to sell another important painting, which we are loathe to do.