Privacy Policy

Last updated: 12 November 2026

1. Introduction

At CLOSE Gallery, we respect your privacy and are committed to protecting your personal information.

This Privacy Policy explains how Close House Ltd (trading as CLOSE Gallery) collects, uses, stores and protects personal information when you visit our website, purchase artwork or products, contact us, attend our exhibitions or events, or subscribe to our communications.

We handle personal information in accordance with applicable data protection legislation, including the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018.

If you have any questions about this policy or how we use your information, please contact us at info@closeltd.com.

2. Who we are

For the purposes of data protection legislation, Close House Ltd is the data controller responsible for the personal information we collect and process.

Our contact details are:

Close House Ltd
Close House
Hatch Beauchamp
Taunton
Somerset
TA3 6AE

Email: info@closeltd.com

3. What information we collect

We may collect and process different types of personal information depending on how you interact with CLOSE Gallery.

Personal and contact information

This may include your name, email address, postal address, telephone number and other contact details you provide when contacting us, making a purchase, registering for an event or subscribing to our mailing list.

Purchase and transaction information

When you purchase artwork or products from our website or directly from the gallery, we may collect information relating to your order, including the items purchased, delivery and billing addresses, transaction details and purchase history.

Enquiries and correspondence

We may keep records of communications you have with us, including emails, telephone conversations, website enquiries and messages received through social media.

Artist, collector and professional information

Where relevant to our gallery activities, we may hold professional information such as an artist's biography, exhibition history, gallery affiliations, artwork enquiries, consignment information and details of previous interactions with collectors, artists, partners and other professional contacts.

Website and technical information

When you visit our website, we may automatically collect certain technical information, including your IP address, browser type, operating system, device information, pages visited and how you interact with the website.

This information helps us understand how visitors use our website and identify opportunities to improve its performance and accessibility.

Marketing preferences

We may record whether you have subscribed to our communications, your preferences and whether you have opted out of receiving marketing emails.

4. How we use your information

We use personal information for the following purposes:

Processing orders and purchases

To process and fulfil orders for artwork and products.
To arrange deliveries and provide order updates.
To process payments, refunds and returns.
To respond to questions about purchases.

Managing gallery activities

To respond to artwork and exhibition enquiries.
To communicate with artists, collectors, galleries and professional contacts.
To organise exhibitions, private views and other gallery events.
To maintain appropriate records of artworks, sales and consignments.

Customer service and communication

To respond to enquiries and provide assistance.
To maintain records of previous correspondence.
To provide information you have requested.

Marketing and communications

To send newsletters, exhibition announcements, invitations and updates about CLOSE Gallery, our artists and available artworks, where we are permitted to do so.
To manage mailing list subscriptions and communication preferences.
To understand the effectiveness of our communications and improve our marketing.

Website improvement

To monitor website performance and visitor activity.
To understand how visitors navigate and interact with our website.
To improve website functionality, content and user experience.

Security and legal obligations

To protect against fraudulent transactions and misuse of our services.
To maintain appropriate business and financial records.
To comply with applicable legal and regulatory requirements.

5. Our lawful basis for processing information

Under UK data protection legislation, we must have a lawful basis for collecting and using personal information.

Depending on the circumstances, we rely on the following lawful bases:

Contractual necessity

Where processing is necessary to fulfil an order, arrange delivery, manage a purchase or provide a service you have requested.

Legitimate interests

Where we have a legitimate business interest in managing our gallery activities, responding to enquiries, maintaining professional relationships, improving our website and services, or keeping appropriate business records. We consider your rights and interests when relying on this basis.

Consent

Where you have actively agreed to receive marketing communications or where consent is required for particular website cookies or tracking technologies.

You can withdraw your consent at any time.

Legal obligation

Where we need to process or retain information to meet legal, accounting, tax or regulatory requirements.

6. Sharing your information

We do not sell, rent or trade your personal information.

However, we may share certain information with trusted third-party service providers where this is necessary to operate our business and provide our services.

These may include:

Payment providers

Payments made through our website may be processed securely by Stripe or Square. These providers handle payment information in accordance with their own privacy and security policies. CLOSE does not routinely receive or store full payment card details.

Stripe's security information: https://docs.stripe.com/security?locale=en-GB

Square's privacy and security information: https://squareup.com/help/gb/en/article/3796-privacy-and-security

Website and database providers

We use third-party systems to manage our website, artwork inventory, customer records and gallery communications. These providers may process personal information on our behalf to support the operation of our services.

Email and marketing providers

We may use external email and marketing platforms to manage mailing lists, distribute newsletters and monitor the performance of our communications.

Delivery and logistics providers

Where you purchase artwork or products, relevant information such as your name, delivery address and contact details may be shared with delivery companies to fulfil your order.

Professional advisers and authorities

We may disclose information to professional advisers, regulatory bodies or public authorities where required by law or where necessary to protect our legal rights.

Where third parties process personal information on our behalf, we take appropriate steps to ensure that it is handled securely and in accordance with applicable data protection requirements.

7. Marketing communications

We would like to keep you informed about exhibitions, artists, events, new artworks and developments at CLOSE Gallery.

We will only send marketing communications where we have an appropriate legal basis to do so, including your consent where required.

You can unsubscribe from our marketing emails at any time by clicking the unsubscribe link at the bottom of an email or by contacting us at info@closeltd.com.

If you unsubscribe from marketing communications, we may still send essential service-related messages, such as order confirmations, delivery updates or responses to enquiries.

We will respect your communication preferences and will not use your information for marketing purposes where you have objected or withdrawn your consent.

8. Website cookies and analytics

Our website may use cookies and similar technologies to support its functionality and improve your browsing experience.

Cookies are small text files stored on your device when you visit a website.

We may use cookies for purposes including:

Ensuring the website functions correctly.
Remembering preferences and settings.
Understanding how visitors use our website.
Monitoring website performance and improving content.
Supporting website security and functionality.

We may use analytics services, such as Google Analytics, to understand visitor activity and website performance.

Where required, we will ask for your consent before placing non-essential cookies or using similar tracking technologies. You can manage your cookie preferences through the website's cookie settings and your browser settings.

For further information about the cookies used on our website, please refer to our Cookie Policy.

9. How we protect your information

We take appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect personal information against unauthorised access, accidental loss, misuse, alteration or disclosure.

Access to personal information is restricted to those who need it for legitimate business purposes.

Where we use external service providers, we take reasonable steps to ensure that they have appropriate security measures in place.

Although we take data security seriously, no method of transmitting or storing information electronically can be guaranteed to be completely secure.

10. How long we keep your information

We only retain personal information for as long as necessary to fulfil the purposes for which it was collected, including meeting any legal, accounting or reporting requirements.

Retention periods will vary depending on the type of information and why it is held.

For example:

Order and financial records: retained for the periods required by applicable tax and accounting legislation.
Customer enquiries and correspondence: retained for as long as necessary to respond to enquiries and maintain relevant business records.
Marketing information: retained while you remain subscribed to our communications, or until you withdraw consent or otherwise object, subject to any necessary suppression records.
Website and analytics information: retained in accordance with the relevant analytics provider's settings and our data retention arrangements.

When information is no longer required, we will take appropriate steps to securely delete or anonymise it.

11. International transfers

Some of the third-party service providers we use may store or process personal information outside the United Kingdom.

Where personal information is transferred internationally, we will take appropriate steps to ensure that the transfer complies with applicable data protection legislation and that suitable safeguards are in place to protect your information.

Further information about relevant safeguards can be requested by contacting us at info@closeltd.com.

12. Your data protection rights

Under data protection legislation, you have a number of rights in relation to your personal information.

These include:

Right of access: You can request a copy of the personal information we hold about you.
Right to rectification: You can ask us to correct inaccurate or incomplete information.
Right to erasure: You can request that we delete your personal information in certain circumstances.
Right to restrict processing: You can ask us to restrict how we use your information in certain circumstances.
Right to data portability: You can request a copy of certain personal information in a commonly used, machine-readable format.
Right to object: You can object to certain types of processing, including processing based on legitimate interests and direct marketing.
Right to withdraw consent: Where we rely on your consent, you can withdraw it at any time.

These rights are subject to certain conditions and exemptions under data protection legislation.

To exercise any of these rights, please contact us at info@closeltd.com. We may need to verify your identity before responding.

We aim to respond to requests within one month, in accordance with applicable data protection requirements.

13. Complaints

If you have any concerns about how we handle your personal information, please contact us in the first instance at info@closeltd.com so that we can try to resolve the matter.

You also have the right to make a complaint to the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO), the UK's independent data protection regulator.

Website: https://ico.org.uk/

Telephone: 0303 123 1113

14. Changes to this Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our business, the services we provide or applicable data protection legislation.

Any updates will be published on this page, together with the revised date at the top of the policy.

We encourage you to review this page periodically to stay informed about how we protect your personal information.

15. Contact us

If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy or how CLOSE Gallery handles your personal information, please contact: