| Main Performers | Students from:
Central School of Arts and Crafts (Cleopatra),
Royal College of Arts (Queen of Sheba),
Architectural Association (Spirit of the Nile),
Slade School (Sacred Crocodile),
Heatherley School (Apis, the Scared Bull),
St Martins' School (Mongolian),
Royal Academy School (Isis and Osiris),
Chelsea Polytechnic (Seven Plagues To-day),
Leon Underwood School (Giant Lobster) |
| Performance Notes | "CHELSEA ARTS BALL.
...The colonnade of a graceful and stately temple outlined itself across the organ front and served as a gallery for the orchestra. In the centre of the floor a commanding pylon had been raised, with large figures of gods on either side, and from the roof hung huge lotus flowers, in which lights were concealed, and receptacles for the usual cascade of coloured balloons which floated down among the dancers at intervals during the night. Green and white were the predominant notes in the decorative scheme."
(Daily Telegraph, 4 March 1926)
"The Chelsea Arts Club Ball held its annual ball last night at the Royal Albert hall. The setting was designed by Mr Frank Brangwyn, RA and Mr A Blunt, and the scheme that they chose of their decorative work was 'Egyptian.' The great hall was draped and plastered to represent an Egyptian Temple.... The Slade carried out a classical scheme in their procession in honour of the sacred crocodile, while the Royal Academy School gave their idea of the wedding of 'Isis and Osiris.' The Chelsea Polytechnic, with 'income Tax' and Mr Stiggins, were topical and realistic - a claim that could scarcely have been made for the elephant, literally supported by the Royal College of Arts. Cleopatra in a barge came from the Central School of Arts and Crafts, and there was a serpent that came and went so quickly that none could say whose was its sponsor."
(The Times, 4 March 1926)
According to the Daily Telegraph (28 January 1925) British archaeologist and Eygptologist, Mr Howard Carter had given expert advice to the set designers for the ball. It was in 1922 that Carter had discovered the tomb of Tutankhamun, and he lived nearby in Kensington.
Founded in 1891 The Chelsea Arts Club is a members club for artists, which for 50 years from 1908 held an annual costumed New Year's Eve ball, which was an infamous part of London's social calendar. After two years at the Royal Opera House the extravagant ball proved so popular it moved to the Royal Albert Hall where it stayed until 1958. The balls attracted media attention with their lavish theatrical sets, multiple orchestras, raucous midnight carnivals and balloon drops and crowds of up to 10,000 socialites, bohemian artists, actors, and ordinary Londoners in elaborate and often scandalous fancy dress dancing until 5am.
Each year a theme was chosen such as Egyptian, Dazzle, Noah's Ark, Prehistoric and Sun Worship around which guests could create flamboyant costumes. London art schools participated by decorating huge carnival floats, which were driven around the auditorium floor and which, at the stroke of midnight, would be destroyed by revellers. The balls were well-known for reports of public nudity, drunken displays of affection, fighting and unadulterated fun. In the vastness of the Hall with its gas lit corridors, curtained boxes and dark staircases naughtiness was the order of the day.
Similarly to the annual Lady Malcolm's Servant's balls (1930-1938) these events were a safe space for the queer community to meet and express themselves with unbridled creativity and little inhibition. There were no scrutineers denying entry or undercover police. LGBTQ+ party goers could feel (relatively) free to be themselves without the scrutiny and surveillance they underwent in their daily lives. For many men especially they could wear drag, dress outrageously, and socialise unashamedly while never appearing to be anything out of the ordinary.
It was New Year's Eve 1958 that was to be the final Chelsea Arts Ball at the Royal Albert Hall. As well as minor damage to the building fabric, a partygoer dispatched a smoke bomb that exploded on the dance floor and ultimately became the straw that broke the camel's back. The Chelsea Arts Ball was asked to take out insurance indemnity against further damage to the Hall and they didn't return. The Ball has returned three times since - in 1984, 1985 and 1992 - although the elaborate costumes and floats didn't make the return trip. The extravagant, eccentric originals remain part of the history of the Capital's social calendar. |
| Related Archival Material | Handbill (RAHE/6/1926/12) |