The Art Gallery of Alberta developed from a long history of support by Edmontonians with a vested interest and belief in the importance of the arts in our city and province. Beginning in 1924, a group of dedicated and enthusiastic volunteers first established the Edmonton Museum of the Arts. The first exhibition, which included 24 paintings borrowed from the National Gallery of Canada and local art collectors, was held in the Palm Room of the Hotel Macdonald.
The Museum's first permanent location was established in the old Edmonton Public Library at 100 Avenue and 100 Street, and by 1929, the gallery had welcomed 2,500 visitors and acquired assets of $5,000 - including approximately 30 works which formed the basis of today's collection.
Over the course of the next 45 years, the gallery outgrew its facilities, moving five times before a bequest from the A.E. Condell Family and a land grant from the City of Edmonton permitted construction of the facility we know today as the Art Gallery of Alberta.