In 2008, the House of Fairy Tales published a stunning portfolio featuring twenty-two signed prints that sought to reimagine the diverse narratives of these familiar childhood stories. It included work by some of the most acclaimed artists working in Britain at the time, including Peter Blake, Harland Miller and Paula Rego.

An arts-based education project which uses the narrative scope of fairy tales to provide creative, innovative and transformative learning experiences for children of all ages and their families, the House of Fairy Tales has been responsible for some of the most innovative and thought-provoking outreach programmes in contemporary art. Hard to find in its complete state, The House of Fairy Tales portfolio represents the pinnacle of what can be achieved in the printmaking studio. Sourcing individual images is incredibly difficult.

Rego's contribution was 'The Guardian', an etching and aquatint on paper. The artist stated that "I turn to etching, and lithography, with a sense of exuberance and relief. In printmaking you can give your imagination full-range and see the results almost immediately. So one image triggers the idea for the next one and so on." Under her penetrating gaze, the dark and often sinister content of familiar fairy tales - forgotten through repetition - is brought to the surface and laid bare.