"Moses was critical for the Foundling Hospital... [he] was the ultimate counter-argument... the original foundling."
Our director Caro Howell recently sat down with The National Gallery to talk about Orazio Gentileschi's 'The Finding of Moses'. Alongside commentary from a priest, a rabbi and an artist, Caro offers insight into the importance of Moses' story in justifying the establishment of The Foundling Hospital.
The Foundling Museum houses two other iterations of Moses' story, including William Hogarth's 'Moses Brought Before Pharaoh's Daughter', displayed in the Museum's Court Room.
To watch the full video, head over to the National Gallery's YouTube channel: http://ow.ly/cBpf50L8XKC
#FoundlingMuseum #FoundlingHospital #NationalGallery #Moses #WilliamHogarth #Painting #OrazioGentileschi
From 30 September, don't miss our brand new exhibition, Tiny Traces.
Explore newly uncovered stories, shared for the first time, of African and Asian children in the care of London’s eighteenth-century Foundling Hospital. Who were these children? What were the circumstances surrounding their admission to the Hospital? Where did they go once they'd left?
We reveal stories stretching across the British empire, of love and loss, all of which paint a rich history of London life at a key point in Britain's colonial past.
Get your tickets today: http://ow.ly/gU6x50KQjFs
'Don’t Ask The Dragon' is the story of a little boy called Alem who goes on an adventure. It's his birthday, but who knows where he can go to celebrate it? Maybe the bear, the fox, the treefrog or the bulldog know? But don't ask the dragon... or he will EAT you!
Find out more about the collaborative process between author Lemn Sissay and illustrator Greg Stobbs in the our 'Don't Ask The Dragon' display which includes some of the original drawings, sketches and ideas for the story. See these lovey works until 9 October.
#FoundlingMuseum #FoundlingHospital #Illustration #childrensbooks #Storytelling #Drawing #Animation #Sketches #books #LemnSissay #GregStobbs
Commissioned to accompany our Foundling Portraits Campaign, this extract from 'The Sitting', by film director Gillian Booth, documents the collaborative process between artist and sitter.
For David Moore's portrait of Lydia, they visited the Foundling Hospital’s Berkhamsted site, where she lived from the age of 5-15.
Watch the film in full on our website or come to the museum's Introductory Gallery where you can see the film alongside the portraits which adorn the main staircase.
https://foundlingmuseum.org.uk/event/portraits-campaign/
#FoundlingMuseum #FoundlingHospital #DavidMoore #FoundlingPortraits #Portraiture #Documentary #TheSitting #Photography
Commissioned to accompany our Foundling Portraits Campaign, this extract 'The Sitting', by film director Gilly Booth, documents the collaborative process between artist and sitter.
For Mahtab Hussain's portrait of John, they sat in the Foundling Museum's Picture Gallery which houses some of the museums most prominent eighteenth century portraits. Hussain's portrait aimed to evoke ideas of 'mirroring theory', which he discusses with John.
Watch the film in full on our website or come to the museum's Introductory Gallery where you can see the film alongside the portraits which adorn the main staircase.
https://foundlingmuseum.org.uk/event/portraits-campaign/
#FoundlingMuseum #FoundlingHospital #MahtabHussain #FoundlingPortraits #Portraiture #Documentary #TheSitting #Photography
Commissioned to accompany our Foundling Portraits Campaign, this extract from 'The Sitting', by film director Gilly Booth, documents the collaborative process between artist and sitter.
For David Moore's portrait of Lydia, they visited the Foundling Hospital’s Berkhamsted site, where she lived from the age of 5-15. In one of her former classrooms, Lydia reflects on her experiences as a former pupil and how being a mother has changed her outlook.
Watch the film in full on our website or come to the museum's Introductory Gallery where you can see the film alongside the portraits that adorn the main staircase.
https://foundlingmuseum.org.uk/event/portraits-campaign/
#FoundlingMuseum #FoundlingHospital #DavidMoore #FoundlingPortraits #Portraiture #Documentary #TheSitting #Photography
Visit Superheroes, Orphans & Origins at the Foundling Museum
This summer, uncover the backstories of some of the world's best loved superheroes at the Foundling Museum.
Superheroes, Orphans & Origins is showing until August 28. 🎟 Book now to avoid disappointment. https://foundlingmuseum.org.uk/event/superheroes-orphans-origins/
First exhibition in the world to explore care identity in comics
Our new exhibition Superheroes, Orphans & Origins is the first in the 🌍 world 🌎 to explore care identity in comics.
This summer, pay a visit to the Foundling Museum in Brunswick Square, London, to explore the origin stories of some of your favourite heroes. https://foundlingmuseum.org.uk/event/superheroes-orphans-origins/
Zenobia (2016, Morten Dürr & Lars Horneman) tells the story of orphaned refugee Amina. Alone and afraid on an overcrowded refugee boat, Amina recalls the adventures her mother told her about the Syrian warrior queen Zenobia.
Superheroes, Orphans & Origins runs until 28 August 2022. Get tickets now: https://foundlingmuseum.org.uk/event/superheroes-orphans-origins/
A standing female figure personifies the idea of charity. She is shown surrounded by children engaged in harvesting and rope-making, suggesting the Foundlings’ future working lives. One of the reasons put forward for establishing the Foundling Hospital was to prevent the unnecessary deaths of children and instead to raise them to join Britain’s work force as useful citizens.
This beautifully crafted marble relief can be found above the fireplace of the Foundling Museum's Court Room. Its maker, John Michael Rysbrack, was a Flemish artist who became one of the first artists to be elected as a Governor of the Foundling Hospital in 1745.
Read a poem on our website by Museum volunteer, Brigid, inspired by the relief: http://ow.ly/uiGH50IEOey
#FoundlingMuseum #FoundlingHospital #SharedStories #MarbleRelief #Sculpture #Marble #Art #Museums #Poem #FlemishArt #Charity
This token depicts a hand making the 'fig sign', or mano fica, in which the thumb is pushed between two fingers. This ancient gesture has a wide range of meanings across the world today, ranging from good luck to a crude insult. Mano fica amulets like this one have been worn for protection against evil since at least ancient Roman times. In this object, the hand is show within a protective sleeve or gauntlet which continues over the wrist and shows the beginning of the forearm. Originally there was a black ribbon threaded through the hole, so the amulet could be worn.
Researchers have been able to match this token with a child admitted in 1756, renamed Henry Penlove by the Hospital. Henry was from West Ham, now part of London, but then a small village to the east of the city with only around 600 inhabitants. In addition to this token, a note was left with the boy. It is folded and pinned through the fold to his admission record, or billet. For now, it remains unopened due to the risk of damage if the pin were to be removed.
#TokenThursday #FoundlingMuseum#FoundlingHospital #Amulet #Manofica #Talisman
Superheroes, Orphans & Origins: 125 years in comics
Superheroes, Orphans and Origins is open. 🦸♂️
Don't miss out on this exciting new exhibition featuring some of the biggest characters in comic books, book your visit on our website today. 🎟
Exhibition open 1 April - 28 August
https://foundlingmuseum.org.uk/event/superheroes-orphans-origins/
The coin or token with the words 'Kings Experimental Philosophy Dukes Court' engraved on it was an admission ticket to a lecture by Dr Erasmus King. He held lectures in 'experimental philosophy' at his home in Dukes Court, Westminster (an area between St Martin's Lane and Castle Street in London) from 1730 to 1756. At these events people would gather to learn about anatomy, astronomy, electricity, mechanics, physics and chemistry, using telescopes, microscopes and mathematical instruments to make observations.
Although we have been unable to match this ticket to a specific foundling, it is an object that deserves mention for its ability to capture the enlightened spirit of the age.
#TokenThursday #FoundlingMuseum #FoundlingHospital #philosophy #Enlightenment
This 18th Century medal is a pass to the Vauxhall Gardens – an entertainment venue that comprised a theme park, art gallery, fashion show and night club. Paying visitors could listen to music, watch fireworks, dance, people-watch, eat and drink among exquisite formal gardens and elaborate pavilions.
As a season pass, this medal allowed repeated entrance to the fashionable Vauxhall Gardens. The pass was redesigned every year to prevent forgeries. The artist William Hogarth designed this one in 1737. It shows the Greek poet Arion riding a dolphin. Hogarth was also a keen supporter of the Hospital, donating his portrait of its founder, Thomas Coram, to the charity.
This token has not yet been matched to a child. The reverse of the pass is inscribed with the number 184 and the name ‘Richd Arnold Esq’. This is original owner of the pass, and we don't know of any connection between him and the child left at the Hospital.
#TokenThursday #FoundlingMuseum #FoundlingHospital #Hogarth #Medal #Arion #Vauxhall
Superheroes, Orphans & Origins — a new exhibition at the Foundling Museum
From 1 April, don't miss our exciting new exhibition Superheroes, Orphans and Origins: 125 years in comics.
From Superman to Spider-Man, Batman to Rogue from X-Men... why are so many superheroes and comic book characters foundlings and orphans? 🦸
Discover the origins and identities of some of the most popular characters in comics, with themes of identity, trauma, autonomy and social belonging.
Get your tickets today: https://foundlingmuseum.org.uk/event/superheroes-orphans-origins/
Mark Neville’s Stop Tanks with Books documents pre-invasion Ukraine, addressing the cultures and customs of a people under threat of increased Russian military aggression. These photos were taken in the coastal city of Odesa, focusing on holidaymakers enjoying the seaside resort. As the city now braces for Russian attack, Neville’s work reminds us how much life has changed for Ukrainians in the past few weeks.
In 2017, we staged an exhibition of Mark’s work, Child’s Play, featuring images of Ukrainian Children displaced by the conflict. This year, we had planned to make an online presentation of Stop Tanks With Books in May, to coincide with his exhibition at the Pinchuk Art Centre in Kyiv.
Now, everything has changed and our awareness has been raised in the worst possible way. The internal displacement of people within Ukraine has become a full-blown humanitarian crisis. It is impossible to look at these images and not wonder where these children are now.
Come and look through Neville’s book on the landing of the first floor of the Foundling Museum.
Find out more: http://ow.ly/biJ750IkX2q
This beautifully crafted red heart clearly took time, skill and effort to make, and is one of a number of handmade tokens in our Collection. Embroidery was a common way of decorating fabric in the eighteenth century, with lots being produced commercially for sale. In London especially, huge numbers of women scraped a living working in the needle trades.
We haven’t been able to connect this token with a child yet, but there is a slip of paper pinned to the heart with the name ‘William’ written on it. The Hospital’s policy was to give babies a new name when they were admitted. However, this didn’t stop many mothers from making efforts to name their children, or at least leave a clue to their original identity in the Hospital records. #TokenThursday
Have you ever spotted these tokens on Marchmont Street? They're actually a permanent public art installation, called Tokens by John Aldus. Aldus worked closely with us to translate his inspiration derived from these objects to create the finished work. #TokenThursday
This thimble has been identified as belonging to a boy admitted in 1759 and renamed John Johnson.
A note was left with the token, but it is attached to its billet and so tightly folded that it is only possible to see that the baby’s original name was Joseph and he was Irish. The billet states that a thimble was left with the child and this is the only one in the collection.
There is also some pale blue ribbon and green threads with the billet, which suggests that the thimble may have been tied to the ribbon with the thread and the ribbon attached to the child for his journey to the Hospital. #TokenThursday
Child number 1791 was Elizabeth Harris, renamed Anne Thaxted.
The little girl’s father had been convicted at the Old Bailey for stealing coal and was transported for seven years. Although the child survived long enough to return to the Hospital from her country nurse, she later died of measles. #TokenThursday
Visit #FightingTalkGK and learn about George King's journey to America, and how his upbringing at the Foundling Museum helped him prepare for his travels.
On until 27 February, there's only a few days remaining to visit. http://ow.ly/Jjlc50HWrPa
It's the last week to see #FightingTalkGK, finishing 27 February, so book your tickets now or take a tour of the exhibition from our own home with Smartify: http://ow.ly/pSVo50HVsG1
What relevance does George King's story have today? Hear from Reverend Keith Magee, Professor of the Practice of Social Justice at Newcastle University, to understand why. Visit #FightingTalkGK in its last few days to see the full exhibition film. http://ow.ly/HxMa50HWrs2
Follow the instructions of Christine Hooper and never get lost with this compass that you can use to navigate your way home.
Have you seen our token collection in the Museum? Do you have one that particularly got your interest? #TokenThursday
