1746年由霍加斯(William Hogarth, 1697-1764)所號召的倫敦扶幼院藝術捐獻，是一項融合慈善與藝術家利益的合作計畫，反映當時政經變遷下，藝術介入社會議題的現象，亦成為扶幼院日後發展藝文形象的關鍵契機。既有的社會史研究常強調扶幼院的慈善功能，藝術史取徑則多將此捐獻視為英國藝術體制發展的前奏。至於此捐獻如何影響扶幼院的公共形象，或是此時慈善文化與藝文活動之間的關係等議題，學界較少深究。事實上，透過史料可知1750年代之後，扶幼院已透過各式藝文活動，成為倫敦兼具行善與享樂的社交場所。這其中的動機、轉變以及對當時慈善文化的影響，均值得深入探討。本文透過考察會議記錄、帳冊與時人記述等一手資料，以扶幼院會議廳藝術作品和院方主導的音樂會等活動為例，指出該院在1746年捐獻的啟發下，以慈善經營的概念運用藝文資產，並切合中間階層追求文雅育樂等需求，積極形塑公共形象。在此過程中，扶幼院不僅與城市中其他藝文娛樂空間密切互動，更因其慈善機構的本質，使其成為結合行善與享樂、公益與私利的特殊場所。扶幼院開創性的作法亦啟發其他機構，陸續舉辦各種行善於樂的活動，為十八世紀中葉之後英國慈善文化帶來新的面貌。

In 1746, based on his enthusiasm for the newly founded Foundling Hospital in London, William Hogarth gathered a group of artists to decorate the interior of the charity institution. The works generated by this project, which were donated by some of the most distinguished artists of the time, have long been regarded as a precious legacy of eighteenth-century English art. This artistic cooperation combined benevolence and artists’ self-interest, and it reflected the way in which art and philanthropy worked together in an era of drastic political and economic transformation. Considerable scholarly attention has been given to the institutional history of the Foundling Hospital and to the history of the Hospital art project, but only as a prelude to the exhibition culture of the 1760s. However, the present study argues that the 1746 art project played a crucial role in inspiring the Hospital to construct a unique cultural image for an audience consisting of the upper class and “the middle sort of people.” By analyzing the cultural and social meanings of the Hospital’s art works and charity events, this article examines how the Foundling Hospital made such an innovative transformation. It argues that the Hospital deftly utilized the concept of “philanthropic commerce” to promote its cultural assets; it also accentuated its appeal by emulating leisure activities then popular in pleasant gardens, targeting similar clients/donors by hosting elegant cultural events. The Foundling Hospital, nevertheless, remained a charity institution. Its unique combination of charity and cultural activities met the demand of the rising “middle sort” both for pursuing public virtue and self-love and for performing politeness. The Foundling Hospital, therefore, not only set a new model for other charity bodies of the time but showcased the multi-faced dimensions of mid-eighteenth century charity culture in Britain.

十八世紀中葉英國；倫敦扶幼院；霍加斯；慈善；中間階層

mid-eighteenth century Britain; London Foundling Hospital; Hogarth; philanthropy; the middle sort of people