A contemporary museum with unique collections of art, music, writing and emotive objects that stretch back to the 18th century, and the opening of the Foundling Hospital.

Founded in 1739, the Foundling Hospital was the UK’s first children’s charity and public art gallery. Its early supporters included major artists such as William Hogarth, Thomas Gainsborough and Joshua Reynolds, all of whom donated works that are still in the Collection today.  

Across the four floors of their 1930s building, formerly the headquarters of the children’s charity, are many original features from the 18th-century Foundling Hospital.

The Foundling Collections include paintings, drawings, sculpture, furniture, everyday objects from life at the Hospital and more. Some of the most moving objects in our Collection are the identifying tokens left by mothers with their babies in the Hospital’s earliest years. Alongside are contemporary works by outstanding artists such as Sir Michael Craig-Martin, Sir Grayson Perry, Yinka Shonibare CBE, and Dame Tracey Emin.  

On this guided tour one of their friendly and knowledgeable guides will take you on a journey through the history of the Foundling Hospital and the Museum’s Collections. Discover the stories behind some of their most emotive artworks and objects, from the extraordinary array of tokens left by mothers, to paintings by Hogarth and Gainsborough. The tour will also take you to the Gerald Coke Handel Collection, a trove of manuscripts, artworks, books and ephemera by and about another of the Hospital’s supporters, composer George Frideric Handel. 

Contact events@sog.org.uk if you have any questions.