Foundling Museum

The Foundling Hospital was established by Captain Thomas Coram, a retired sailor who was so moved by the plight of children abandoned on the streets of London that he set up a home for those at risk. Among its influential supporters in the early years were the composer George Frideric Handel, who conducted benefit concerts for the Hospital, and William Hogarth, who donated several works of art and encouraged other artists to follow his example.

The hospital ceased to exist in 1954, but the charity, now named Coram, still works on behalf of vulnerable children. The Foundling Museum was established in 2004 to house and care for the remarkable collections. Today the Museum celebrates the work of artists to make positive change in the lives of vulnerable children, inspired by the story of the Foundling Hospital.

To date, the museum has run two successful Art Happens crowdfunding campaigns. The first in 2015, raised over £25,000 to put on The Fallen Women exhibition which revealed the untold stories of the women who gave up their babies to the Foundling Hospital. Their 2018 Ladies of Quality & Distinction campaign raised £35,000 to take down the portraits of the male governors who dominate their Picture Gallery and rehang it with 21 portraits of their first female champions.

And, you can even explore personal responses to objects in the museum from the people who know them best – volunteers, carers and graduates. Shared stories, Shared Voices is a project born out of the coronavirus pandemic, keeping the public connected to the incredible stories from the Foundling and the people who have the deepest connection to it.

In episode two of the second series of our podcast Meet Me at the Museum, join poet and chancellor of Manchester University Lemn Sissay as he takes good friend Asif Khan along to the Foundling Museum in London, where they explore the UK’s first children’s home and first public art gallery.