Simply to define, an art gallery is a place where usually Paintings, Photographs, Designs, Visual arts, Carvings, Illustration, Objects from the applied arts etc, are kept for the exhibition. In another word we can also call this a museum. There are various types of galleries such as public gallery, private gallery, and commercial gallery. However these types of gallery may host transient exhibitions including art borrowed from elsewhere.

Museum galleries with a room dedicate to Ancient Egyptian art often being called the Egypt Gallery. E.g. Synchronous galleries are some what privately-owned for-profit purpose. In urban centers such as Chelsea in New York City , these galleries are assembled together and largely identified as the center of the contemporary art world. Almost each and every town we will find the art galleries and in most of the cities we find large number of art galleries. Mostly art galleries are open for general public who are interested in seeing the exhibition in which synchronous (contemporary) galleries are also involved . Some art galleries charge and they usually profit through the sell. (25% to 50%). Apart from this we will also find some non profit art galleries who don't charge anything. In Tokyo art galleries they charge the artists a flat rate per day. Many time solo shows are arranged in the art galleries. Conservator often creates group shows that speak something about a particular theme, trend in art, or group of associated artists. Galleries often choose to represent artists exclusively, giving them the opportunity to show regularly. One idiosyncrasy of contemporary art galleries is their aversion to signing business contracts, although this seems to be changing.

Some art galleries organize different artistic entertaining activities, such as music concerts or poetry readings, comedy shows etc. In many big programs festivals etc. temporary art galleries are installed . Photographic records of land art and performance art usually exist outside a gallery which belongs to 20th century.

Sir John Soane with his creation for the Dulwich Picture Gallery established the architectural form of the art gallery (1817). This established the gallery as a series of interconnected rooms with largely uninterrupted wall spaces for hanging pictures and indirect lighting from skylights or roof lanterns. The late 19th century saw a boom in the building of public art galleries in Europe and America , being a vital cultural feature of larger cities. Large number of art galleries rose up alongside museums and public libraries as part of the municipal drive for literacy and public education.

In the late 20th century the dry old fashioned view of art galleries has increasingly been replaced with architecturally bold modern art galleries, often seen as international destination for tourists in their own right. Guggenheim Museum in New York City by Frank Lloyd Wright would be the first example of the architectural landmark art . Frank Gehry's Guggenheim Museum Bilbao and Mario Botta redesign of San Francisco Museum of Modern Art is more recent outstanding examples. Some critics argue that these galleries are self defeating, in that their dramatic interior spaces distract the eye from the paintings they are supposed to exhibit.