The State Gallery is comprised today of three buildings. The oldest part of the gallery, known today as the Old State Gallery, was constructed during 1838 to 1843 by Gottlob Georg Barth as the Museum of Picture Art.

In 1984, the Old State Gallery was joined by the New State Gallery and constructed by the English master architect James Stirling. The Swiss architects, Wilfrid und Katharina Steib, annexed the Old State Gallery in 2002.

While the Old State Gallery contains works from the Middle Ages to the 19th century, the New State Gallery contains art from the 20th century, including works from Braque, Chagall, Debuffet, Klee, Koloschka and Nolde. Futhermore, the Gallery has one of the most important collections of Picasso's work to be seen.

In addition to the featured paintings, sculptures, and photography, the largest collection of European drawings and printed graphics within Germany, with more than 400,000 papers, can also be viewed.