The National Gallery, London - Skyfall

SCREENSHOT from Skyfall - Bond's contemplation is interrupted.

One of my favorite scenes in Skyfall is when James Bond meets the new Q.

Bond (Daniel Craig) is sitting in Room 34 of The National Gallery, staring at a Turner painting when a young man (Ben Whishaw) sits next to him. Bond isn’t happy to have company, even less so when the man says in a low, contemplative tone, “Always makes me feel a bit melancholy. A grand old warship, being ignominiously hauled away for scrap. The inevitability of time, don't you think? What do you see?” Unimpressed and maybe even annoyed at the direct hit, Bond says tersely, “A bloody big ship. Excuse me.” and gets up to leave, only to be stopped when he hears, “007. I am your new Quartermaster.”

What follows is a bit of banter that sets the tone for their relationship, and I could wax poetic about it (and have) but instead I want to look a little bit deeper into the location for that meeting: The National Gallery.

PHOTO by author. The British National Gallery, 2015.

Quick history lesson

The National Gallery in London houses some of the most precious pieces of art in the world. It is located in Trafalgar Square - the very heart of the city. The original gallery was literally the house of the man from whom the first collection of art had been purchased, banker John Julius Angerstein. There were plans for something bigger, and making it happen was a priority since the small gallery was apparently made of in the press with comparisons to bigger galleries such as the Louvre in Paris.

In 1831 Parliament decided on the new location and construction began...and continued on as the collection grew over the years. The building opened in 1838 and was meant to be for all - perfect location, extended hours, and free. According to The National Gallery website, “the building now has a total floor area of 46,396 metres squared - roughly big enough to hold over 2,000 London double-decker buses.”

The painting that captures Bond’s attention and invites Q’s interpretation is called The Fighting Temeraire by artist Joseph Mallard William Turner (1775-1851), and was bequeathed to the gallery by Turner along with nearly 300 paintings, over 30,000 sketches and watercolors, and notebooks. “The Turner Bequest” was the largest ever donation of works of art to the gallery. Most of it is now housed at Tate Britain in London.

SCREENSHOT from Skyfall - Let the banter begin between 007 and his new Quartermaster.

What it means to me

I adore this scene from Skyfall because Ben Whishaw’s Q is just as sarcastic as Desmond LLewelyn’s Q, neither of them in the least bit worried about whether or not they get on the bad side of an assassin, but would very much like their equipment back in one piece please. At a time when Bond is feeling his age, he’s confronted with a young Quartermaster who isn’t bothered by Bond’s annoyance, isn’t intimidated, and knows exactly why a Double Oh agent is necessary. The short conversation may seem flippant but is a test that (I think) Bond needs Q to pass because at that moment he is considering the “inevitability of time” and his own jaded life that he's putting in the hands of a much younger man.

When I visited London in 2015 I was looking forward to visiting The National Gallery to sit in front of the painting and play the scene in my mind. Unfortunately, there was a strike happening and only a few rooms were open to tour. Room 34 was not one of them. Not even asking the security guard at the desk if he could just take me because I had travelled all the way from the States could get me in there. I did purchase a postcard and a magnet of The Fighting Temeraire in the gift shop to tide me over until my next visit.

SCREENSHOT from The National Gallery website. NOTE: This is the old block, in the new one the "Highlights" block is no longer The Fighting Temeraire, but I couldn't replace it considering the Bond connection.

Best way to virtually visit

COVID-19 restrictions have temporarily closed The National Gallery, but they have updated and improved their website to give everyone a wonderful virtual experience. To find the virtual tours inside, go to www.https://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/ and scroll down to click on the Virtual Tours section. There are three you can explore: the Google Virtual Tour to see the Renaissance paintings, The Virtual Reality Tour of the Sainsbury Wing to see Early Renaissance works, and a tour specifically made for mobile phones to get a closer look at the painting The Adoration of the Kings by Gossaert.

Last year there had been an old tour of Room 34 which is where The Fighting Temeraire was displayed, and where the Bond and Q meeting took place. It used Adobe Flash, and so it was made unusable when the Flash plug-in was no longer supported. Here is the screenshot I took when I took my first virtual tour of Room 34.

SCREENSHOT of Room 34 - The Fighting Temeraire is on the left, closest to the edge.

It wasn't the same as physically standing in the room, but at the time it felt like the next best thing.

As of this writing, The Fighting Temeraire is not on display at The National Gallery, but you can scroll down to the next section after the Virtual Tours and click on “Search the Collection.” Type in The Fighting Temeraire and the painting will pop up (as does another Turner painting). Click on the painting and you will have the opportunity to look at The Fighting Temeraire up close, with options to zoom in or out. There is a menu above the painting to learn more about it, and opportunities to download or buy prints.

SCREENSHOT of The Fighting Temeraire page.

Below that is a lecture video about The Fighting TEMM and more of Turner's beautiful paintings to admire.

I encourage you to explore the whole National Gallery website. There are “Make and Create” art tutorial videos, opportunities to get a peek at how the conservationists work on the paintings, and so much more. And of course the gift shop is always open!

To “walk” around the building and Trafalgar Square, using Google Earth works best.

1. Open the Google Earth app in Google Chrome or go to https://www.google.com/earth/ (Click "Launch Earth”)

2. Click the magnifying glass icon to search and enter “The National Gallery, London”

3. Use the + (plus) icon to zoom in (if using a PC) or enlarge the screen as you normally would on a phone or tablet - use the 3D feature for the best “view”

4. Click on the little figure icon to see the blue lines and dots show up indicating a closer view

5. Click on a blue line to enter Street View or one of the dots which is in the Photo Sphere (a user has uploaded their photos)

6. In Street View, the white arrows allow you to move along the street in different directions.

SCREENSHOT of Google Earth with Street View of The National Gallery and Trafalgar Square.

The 3D option will help get a better look at the building and square and will pan around to get a 360 degree view of the area. You can go back to the 2D view anytime. There are endless blue lines and dots to explore Trafalgar Square and the front of the National Gallery. All of the places I clicked on were in the Photo Sphere, most with 360 degree views, and some with the white arrows that allow you to move around the square a bit. I was surprised to see a couple with relatively few people around. Every time I have been to Trafalgar Square it has been packed with people. I’m sure I’ve shown up in more than a few vacation photos.

SCREENSHOT of National Gallery and Trafalgar Square. Photo by user Marija K.