The Foundling Museum

The Foundling Museum contains the nationally important art collection of the Foundling Hospital, London’s first home for abandoned children and Britain’s first public art gallery which lead to the founding of the Royal Academy. The collection includes works by Hogarth, Gainsborough and Reynolds, in its original Rococo and Georgian setting; a contemporary social history gallery telling the story of the foundling children; and a collection of Handel memorabilia, including his will and conducting score of Messiah.