About

Fortress House is a contemporary art collection exploring the individual’s relationship with society and the pressures which shape identity. From the outset, a primary point of interest has been the human body: as an object of desire, a Surreal spectacle or site of resistance. In particular, Fortress House has acquired many works articulating the Feminist response to the male gaze. Other tendencies include a predilection for portraiture and works addressing the human condition. 

There is a noted Western bias, with most works by artists from the UK, Europe or USA. In building the Fortress House collection, we ensure acquisitions are weighted towards female artists as a natural corrective to male dominated collections in public institutions. 

More recently, the focus of the Fortress House collection has been artists from the Middle East, North Africa and South Asia. This has evolved organically and extends well established themes within the collection while also opening avenues to new ones - especially identity.

Navigating the WebsitE

Short texts accompany each work on the Collection page situating them in broad thematic and biographical terms. Longer texts about the artist's life and wider practice can be found on the Artists page under biography. Commissioned contextual writing by leading academics can be read under Essays. Artworks demonstrating core collection interests are located in Themes. 

Fortress House regularly lends works to a range of UK and international institutions. As part of our aim to share the collection and make it accessible to a broad audience we welcome requests to borrow individual or multiple works. All loan enqueries should be emailed to us at the address below.