The Keeper of Paintings and the Palette of Perception
A mobile based immersive adventure that encourages children to explore and learn about one of the greatest collections of paintings in the world.
Playable at the National Gallery.
The Keeper of Paintings needs your help! Claws Monet, that silly cat, has knocked all the gems out of the magical Palette of Perception!
Without the gems, the Keeper’s magical abilities to look after the paintings are in jeopardy. Can you help by searching through the gallery rooms and find where those gems might be hiding?
Suitable for ages 7+. Designed for use only at the National Gallery. Parental supervision is recommended at all times while playing The Keeper of Paintings app in the National Gallery.
Download the app for free on your phone or tablet.
We are making some exciting changes to the building which is resulting in some room closures around the Gallery. As a result the Keeper of Paintings and the Palette of Perception is not running at its optimum experience.
Frequently asked questions
The game has been designed for children aged 7-11 and their families, but can be enjoyed by players of any age.
Download the free app by searching for “Keeper of Paintings” on the app store or follow the links below.
The core adventure can be completed in 30-60 minutes, but players can play for as long as they like. You can also pause whenever you want and continue later or on future visits.
The game can be played on Apple or Android mobile devices and tablets. Performance will be best on more recent devices but the game is playable even on much older smartphones and tablets.
Absolutely. Tablets are sometimes easier for younger players to use - just follow the same app download instructions above.
The game area is indicated on the in-game map and includes a large number of Gallery Rooms, all on Level 2 of the Main Building: 9,10,11,12, 14, Central Hall, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 43, 44 and 45.
There is a small amount of sound produced by the game, and you may be asked to turn the volume down if it is excessively loud, but the game has been designed for players to have fun… so have fun!
Tap on the ‘Settings’ icon in the app and make sure that the sound is turned on. If this fails check your device settings to ensure your phone is not on ‘Silent Mode’ or ‘Do not disturb’.
This experience uses some features that can be demanding on a device’s battery, such as using the camera & positioning AR. To reduce the rate at which it consumes battery, please ensure your device has no other apps open. If needed, you can also put the device in battery-saving mode and turn off the Bluetooth.
The game is largely an off-line experience but does need to be connected when you first load the app. This does not use large amounts of data but you may prefer to join the free National Gallery WiFi before you play.
If you would like to reset the game and start again, tap on the ‘Settings’ icon in the app and select ‘Restart Adventure’. Please note that doing so will lose all progress including gems and badges collected, and images captured along the way.
Absolutely. Tap on the ‘Settings’ icon where you can select a variety of options including sound, closed captions, text animations, text size, chat bubble contrast options and font.
The app will be supported by the following devices:
Apple devices newer than iPhone X. iPad (4th Gen) and above
Older devices, whilst compatible, may run into processing difficulties.
Android mobile and tablet devices that support AR & Vulkan and Android OS 10.0 and above (eg. Samsung Galaxy S8 and above, Galaxy Note 8 and newer, Galaxy TabS5e and newer, Galaxy Tab A (2018) and newer. (see full list of supported devices here)
Users with Android devices that do not meet these criteria will not be able to download the app from the Play Store.
The app will be supported by the following OS:
iOS 16 and above
Android OS 10.00 (Quince Tart) and above
The Keeper of Paintings was commissioned by the National Gallery, London and StoryFutures, Royal Holloway, University of London as part of StoryFutures China, a research and development project funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC). StoryFutures China is led by Brunel Design School, Brunel University London.
Created by
Special thanks to:
Members of the Children's Advisory Group, children from Christ Church CEP Academy Folkestone, and families who participated in the open call testing sessions in November 2021 and February 2022
Produced by:
Executive Producers: Lawrence Chiles (The National Gallery), James Bennett (StoryFutures, Royal Holloway, University of London)
Created by Arcade:
Simon Hobbs, Alex Book, Jon Meggitt, Olivia Hinkin, Daniëlle Verburg, Michelle Collier, James Harvey, Zach Thompson-Howley, Jagoda Wrobel
Project Management:
Kylie Bryant (StoryFutures, Royal Holloway), Olivia Hinkin (Arcade), Clementine Vaughan (The National Gallery)
The National Gallery Project Team:
Lawrence Chiles, Clementine Vaughan, Anne Mason, Maria Alambritis, Anne Fay, Caroline Smith, Emma Capron, Karen Eslea, Christine Riding, Larry Keith
StoryFutures China Project Team:
The Principal Investigator for StoryFutures China is Dr Vanja Garaj (Brunel Design School, Brunel University London). The research team includes Dr Christine Singer (Children’s Audience Researcher, Royal Holloway), Dr Lulu Yin (UX Researcher, Brunel Design School), Professor Jen Parker-Starbuck (Story Consultant, StoryFutures, Royal Holloway), Dr Marianna Rolbina (Business Networks Researcher, StoryFutures, Royal Holloway), Dr Youngok Choi (Co-Investigator, Brunel Design School), Olive Hou (Assistant Producer, Royal Holloway), Xunnan Li (The Creative Industries Policy Researcher, StoryFutures, Royal Holloway)
Take part in our survey
The audience insight team at StoryFutures, Royal Holloway University of London, are helping us learn more about how families experience the Gallery, especially when children are playing this magical new adventure ‘The Keeper of Paintings’. Please take part in this survey when you visit - all your feedback will be very welcome.
Other adventures to enjoy
The Keeper of Paintings and the Mischievous Masterpieces
Fragments from paintings have run off all over the UK! Tempt them back to the Keeper’s care by making your own artistic masterpieces in augmented reality. Play anywhere, anytime.
The Keeper of Paintings Canvas Quest
An immersive game to play on mobiles and tablets that takes children on a hide and seek adventure in the Roden Centre for Creative Learning at the National Gallery.