ART, MUSIC & SOCIAL REVOLUTION Foundling Museum Private Tour & Lunch at 1-Star Michelin Benares

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The Foundling Museum tells the story of the Foundling Hospital, Britain’s first home for children who would otherwise have been abandoned – known in the eighteenth century as ‘foundlings’. The Hospital was both the UK’s first children’s charity and its first public art gallery. From 1741 when the first baby was admitted to 1954 when the last pupil was placed in foster care, the Foundling Hospital cared and educated over 25,000 children, and the Hospital continues today as the children’s charity Coram. Instrumental in helping Coram realise his vision in 1739 were the artist William Hogarth and the composer George Frideric Handel – major benefactors of the Hospital whose creative generosity paved the way for the arts community supporting philanthropy. A museum of both art and social history, the dynamic programme of exhibitions and events celebrates the ways in which artists of all disciplines have helped improve children’s lives for over 275 years. The Museum shows the Hospital’s remarkable art collection amongst furniture, fittings and interiors from the original eighteenth-century building. Hogarth donated the first painting to the Hospital in 1740 and then encouraged many of the leading artists of the day to do likewise, including Thomas Gainsborough, Joshua Reynolds and Louis-Francois Roubiliac. Alongside the art, the Museum also houses the Gerald Coke Handel Collection, the world's largest private collection of Handel memorabilia. Visitors also get to see poignant objects and archival material that reveal life at the Hospital for the children, including the eighteenth-century ‘tokens’; everyday objects left by mothers with the babies they handed over to the Hospital’s care. With its modern take on Indian cuisine fused together with traditional British ingredients, Benares has received a warm welcome in the capital. Named after the Holy City in India, Benares's decor features soothing hand-crafted furniture, water features, and an elegant, exotic interior, drawing inspiration its namesake to ensure a warm and welcoming dining experiences for its guests.

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WHERE AND WHEN IT'S AVAILABLE

This experience is available in multiple locations. You will be able to select your choice of venue at time of booking.