Pinakoteka was the first institution of visual arts in Albania. After a hard work and many efforts, on January 11, 1954, the National Art Gallery in Tirana was officially opened to the public. The building of the National Art Gallery, which is located today on “Dëshmorët e Kombit” Boulevard, was inaugurated on November 29, 1974.
There are several exhibition halls such as the Renaissance Art, the Byzantine Art, the Graphics Hall and the one of works made after 50s. The National Art Gallery stores about 4100 works of art by Albanian and foreign authors, which cover a period of time that starts from the 13th century and continues to the present day. The first Albanian bust is also kept there, which is the bust of Skënderbeu, made in 1908 by Murat Toptani. Since 1999, a library has been opened to the public where albums, magazines, criticism and various literature on visual arts can be read.
Today, about 4,000 artworks are stored in the National Art Gallery. The National Art Gallery is the most important institution of visual arts in our country. The National collection of visual arts is kept here, starting from the second half of the century. XIX to our days. This collection consists of works from the National Renaissance and Independence period (1883 – 1944), a collection of icons belonging to the c. XIII – XIX, the largest collection of painting and sculpture of the period of Socialist Realism (1944-1990), the pavilion of foreign artists, as well as a collection of contemporary national and international art. On the first and second floors, artworks from the fund are displayed, divided according to historical periods, or based on artistic concepts that aim to re-evaluate the values that this institution carries, in order to present them to the public in a qualitative way. Temporary exhibitions are also organized on the first floor, mainly for contemporary art.
