art house noun2 •A cinema that shows art films and foreign films which are not widely distributed.Practically nothing has yet been reported in detail about audiences who attend the art house—a relatively new and growing institution on the American cinematic scene. — 1953 •(old-fashioned) A building or gallery in which works of art are collected, displayed, and offered for sale.Hitler had "collected" most of the paintings from a Jewish-owned art house—Goudstikker of Amsterdam. — 1946 formsart houses · art-houses