Once voted Britain’s most loved painting, Turner’s ‘‘The Fighting Temeraire’ is in Toon! It arrived in Newcastle at the start of May and will be here until 7th September at the Laing Art Gallery in the centre of the city. As part of the National Gallery, London’s 200th anniversary ‘National Treasures’ celebrations, they’re sending some of their most iconic artworks to 12 partner galleries across the country, and The Fighting Temeraire was fittingly chosen for Newcastle. 

Disclaimer: I was invited by the Laing Art Gallery to the exhibition and I am in collaboration with them to promote this fabulous painting and exhibition that celebrates the North East.

The Laing Art Gallery have not only accepted this treasure, they have taken their cue from this show stopping centrepiece, and used it as inspiration for a wider exhibition; Turner: Art, Industry & Nostalgia. The exhibition brings together a collection of paintings and photographs depicting all three components from across the region, including many more works from Turner himself, alongside L.S. Lowry, Tacita Dean, and photographers John Kippin and Chris Killip.

I was invited along to the Laing Art Gallery to see the exhibition for myself, so on the day before launch I got the metro up to Monument, just a few minutes walk from the gallery. NexusMetro are the Laing Gallery travel partners for the exhibition, and it’s a really easy and convenient way to travel into the city for an afternoon of art and history. You can’t miss all the advertisements on the metros and in the stations across the region, reminding you not to miss out.

The Fighting Temeraire painting depicts the last journey of the grand naval vessel pulled by a steamboat up the River Thames. However in reality, there were two tugboats that guided it up the river, and they were both manufactured here on Tyneside. Named the Samson and the London, they were built right here in our shipyards along the banks of the Tyne. 

The exhibition spans across two rooms of the Laing, with The Fighting Temeraire in the centre of the left hand wall of the second room. It really is stunning, especially up close where you can really appreciate the detail of both the ship and steamboat, the water reflections and the sunrise. 

The warship’s last journey was to take it to be scrapped, after being involved in many naval operations including the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805. Many grand ships like this were slowly being replaced by steamships, and Turner captured this moment in time hanging in the balance between the past and the future.

The themes of the painting have seen it featured in a number of other settings, particularly the most memorable being in James Bond Skyfall, a film that very much focuses on looking back to times gone by, and reflecting on the old while embracing the emerging new traditions. Bond meets the new Q sitting in the National Gallery right in front of the painting – a directors decision clearly not left to chance. 

You can also find the image on the back of the British £20 note!

Some of Turner’s other works were also heavily linked to the North East, and a few of these are also part of the exhibition, including one showing Lindisfarne Castle in Holy Island, Northumberland. The Thames and the Tyne are themed throughout, with dark chimneys, smokey plumes and heavy machinery featuring heavily in many of the works. 

Other paintings and photographs in the exhibition also show our local industry and history- Wallsend shipyards, Hebburn & Jarrow coal mines, and scenes of the working River Tyne to name a few. It’s fascinating to see old paintings and works of how the area used to look.

Iron and Coal: the Industry of the Tyne watercolour by William Bell Scott shows the locals labouring in the yards, and details next to the painting explained that they worked for the same company that had provided the engines for the Samson and the London. The painting was commissioned for Sir Walter Travelyan, for his home at Wallington Hall. 

It had been many years since I had been to the Laing Art Gallery, but I really enjoyed this exhibition for its intricate look at our Newcastle and North East history. Even some of the works in the rest of the gallery that weren’t included in this specific exhibition were lovely to see. 

My favourites were naturally those from the coast, including ‘Early Morning off the Coast’, and ‘Darkness Falls from the Wings of the Night’, an unmistakable painting of Cullercoats bay.

Even if you aren’t usually an art fan, I’d really encourage you to visit the gallery while The Fighting Temeraire is in Newcastle. It’s a great opportunity to see it sitting proudly amongst an exhibition that has been carefully curated to celebrate and showcase our local working history – something the region is renowned for. There is a shop and cafe within the gallery so you can make a day of it.

Visit The Fighting Temeraire in Newcastle by pre booking your ticket to the gallery. Full price tickets are £5, concessions £4 and it’s free for those aged 21 and under. Find out more on the Laing Art Gallery website here.