The South African National Gallery is adjacent to Parliament, in the Company Gardens in Cape Town's CBD. The collection was built on a series of bequests in the 2nd half of the nineteenth century. The current gallery building was completed in 1930, and houses an extensive collection of South African, African, British, French, Dutch and Flemish art. Its acquisitions policy now focuses strongly on the collecting of significant contemporary art from South Africa, and since 1990 one of the major tasks has been to establish a collection that acknowledges and celebrates the expressive cultures of the African continent, particularly its southern regions.

A comprehensive database contains information on the artists and works in the permanent collection and numerous catalogues have been published. Selections from the permanent collection change regularly and temporary exhibitions of paintings, works on paper, photography, new media, sculpture, beadwork and textiles are hosted.