Emma Brownlow (28 September 1832 – 1 January 1905) was a Victorian era artist who is best known for her paintings depicting scenes from life at the Foundling Hospital in London.

The novel was an influence on Charles Dickens's later novel Oliver Twist, and its author is believed to be the model for the character Mr.

The fourth painting is titled Taking Leave (1868) and shows the process of a foundling preparing to begin work.

Catherine Roach notes that Brownlow's reproductions of Old Master paintings "stage a drama of redemption" for Foundling children using submerged representations of glorious causes.

[5] Rachel Bowlby argues that these paintings "carried on her father's work, promoting the virtues and values of the institution through pictures of its daily life and rituals.