Chelsea Insider Low - Cadogan

34 | THINGS TO DO | Art galleriesRecent exhibitions include The EmpireStrikes Back: Indian Art Today, AbstractAmerica: New Painting and Sculpture,and The Shape of Things to Come:New Sculpture, each reportedly drawingaround 4,000 visitors a day. Entry to allshows is free of charge.The Gallery Mess (see Restaurants) isworth checking out, and the gift shop isgreat for interesting presents for artytypes. Rooms at the gallery can be hiredfor events.Daily 10am-6pm, last entry at 5.30pm.Duke of York’s HQ, King’s Road,SW3 4RY. T: 020 7811 3080www.saatchi-gallery.co.ukStephanie Hoppen GalleryStephanie Hoppen – mother to famousgallery owner Michael and interiordesigner Kelly – has been working at 17Walton Street since 1981. She believesin a practical approach to art, cuttingaway jargon and theory, where the oneconsideration for buyers should bewhether there is ‘love at first sight’. Thegallery displays works from British andinternational contemporary artists andphotographers.Tuesday to Friday 10am-6pm,Saturday 12pm-5pm, Monday byappointment.17 Walton Street, SW3 2HXT: 020 7589 3678www.stephaniehoppen.comNocturne in Blackand Gold – theFalling RocketAmerican-born artist James AbbottMcNeill Whistler lived at many placesin Chelsea (see Streets and Sights)and his painting Nocturnein Black and Gold – the FallingRocket, which depicts fireworks atCremorne Gardens over BatterseaBridge, resulted in a costly libel caseagainst the critic John Ruskin in 1877.Whistler had exhibited the paintingat the Grosvenor Gallery and Ruskinhad called him a ‘coxcomb’ for asking‘two hundress guineas for flinging apot of paint in the public’s face’.Whistler sued himfor libel, saying it was an ‘artisticarrangement’ rather than a view of thegardens, and that he didn’t ask twohundred guineas for the timeit took to paint, rather ‘for the knowledgeI have gained in the work of alifetime’.Whistler won the case, but was onlyawarded a farthing in damages andhad to pay his own costs,forcing him to sell his new housein Tite Street, designed for him byE W Godwin, and bankrupting him.Time travelFrom the Carlyle’s House to Chelsea FC,these museums will give you an insightinto the past and the presentNational Army MuseumThe National Army Museum is a bitdifferent to most other museums – ituses the objects in its collection as away to link the past and present, ratherthan to examine history as a separateentity. It aims to tell the story of theBritish Army – and the Indian Army, upuntil 1947 – as a whole, right up to thepresent day. The online exhibition aboutthe Army in Helmand, Afghanistan, andits permanent exhibition in the museum,Conflicts of Interest, 1969-present,show its dedication to covering currentconflicts as well as historic ones. Itreceives grant aid from the Ministryof Defence and it pays ground rent ofprecisely one guinea a year to its landlord,the Royal Hospital.The collections look at both the Army’srole in history around the world and thepersonal experiences of servicemenand women. The exhibitions, particularlyon modern or current conflicts, give anintimate portrayal of what it is like toserve in the military, and doesn’t shyaway from the psychological impact.It links into popular culture, too – forexample, War Horse: Fact & Fictionexplores Michael Morpurgo’s novel.The new Kids’ Zone soft-play area isa great addition, helping young childrento learn in a fun way, with the Early YearsFoundation Stages at its heart. There arealso plenty of family events. The educationdepartment is excellent.In fact, the museum is so popular thatan expansion is planned, with a glassatrium, a roof terrace, a restaurant, newNationalArmyMuseumeducation facilities and an overhaul ofsome of the galleries in the pipeline.An interesting series of celebrityspeakers runs at the museum, fromauthors to anthropologists and first-handaccounts from soldiers, along withlunchtime lectures. There’s sometimes aticket fee for talks, but most of themuseum’s events are free.Open daily 10am-5.30pm.Free admission.Royal Hospital Road,SW3 4HTT: 020 7730 0717www.nam.ac.ukChelsea FCChelsea FootballClub’s museum atStamford Bridge tellsthe story of the club fromits beginnings in 1905 to itsglobal reach today. It features memorabilia,interactive experiences including theadidas Shooting Gallery – which teachesvisitors how to shoot the perfect goal –and a showcase of shirts from some ofthe team’s greatest players. The museumworks in conjuction with an updatedstadium tour route and shop.