A PHOTOGRAPH of a semi-naked prepubescent girl by internationally renowned photographer Jan Saudek was removed from the Ballarat International Foto Biennale on the eve of its opening on Saturday.

Biennale director Jeff Moorfoot said he understood a woman went to the Office of the Child Safety Commissioner, Tourism Victoria and the local council to complain that the 1995 Saudek work, Black Sheep & White Crow, which she had seen in an ad promoting the exhibition in Art Almanac, depicted a mother prostituting her child.

Jan Saudek's Black Sheep & White Crow. Saudek's work is characterised by an interest in beauty and personal erotic freedom.

Mr Moorfoot said the council and tourism agency warned him that a controversy surrounding the image could imperil funding, even though Saudek's works were in a separate room with a warning at the door that they contained adult content.

''No one's said 'take the work off the wall or else','' Mr Moorfoot said. ''[They said] 'if this goes to the ministerial level, chances are we won't fund the next festival'.''