Thomas Coram
(1668?-1751), PhilanthropistEarly Georgian Portraits Catalogue Entry
Sitter associated with 7 portraits
Coram began life as a seaman, rising to the position of merchant captain. He spent ten years farming in America before returning to England in 1703. Seeing the poverty in the East End of London inspired Coram to provide a refuge for abandoned children and in 1722 he suggested the setting up of a foundling hospital. It took seventeen years before in 1739 Coram finally obtained a royal charter authorising the establishment of a hospital for foundling infants. It opened in Hatton Garden, in 1741, with twenty children, and is thought to be the world's first incorporated charity. A new purpose-built hospital was built, at Lamb's Conduit Fields, Bloomsbury, which opened in 1745.
Unknown man, formerly known as Thomas Coram
by Unknown artist
oil on canvas, feigned oval, 1720s
NPG 2351
after William Hogarth
pencil(?) and wash, feigned oval, based on a work of 1740
NPG 2427
by James Macardell, after William Hogarth
mezzotint, 1749 (1740)
NPG D34126
by James Macardell, after William Hogarth
mezzotint, 1749 (1740)
NPG D34127
by James Macardell, after William Hogarth
mezzotint, 1749
NPG D1554
by James Macardell, after William Hogarth
mezzotint, 1749
NPG D18712
by William Nutter, after William Hogarth
stipple engraving, published 1796
NPG D9102
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