The donor laid the foundation stone himself in 1909, but it was after his death that the Gallery was formally opened in 1911, with "great enthusiasm and gaiety.

By donations – including the Deffett Francis collection of prints and drawings and the Kildare S.Meager bequest of Swansea china – and by purchases the Gallery's holdings have become more representative of the range of European art, while remaining rich in the work of local artists.

[3] The gallery displays a broad spectrum of visual arts from the original bequest of Glynn Vivian (1835–1910), and includes work by Old Masters as well as an international collection of porcelain and Swansea china.

The paintings include work by Richard Wilson, Claude Monet, Thomas Jones, Mark Gertler, Augustus John, Gwen John, Stanley Spencer, Lucien Pissarro, Paul Nash, Guido Reni, Cedric Morris, Ben Nicholson, Alfred Janes, Ceri Richards, Ivon Hitchens, Thomas Lawrence, Evan Walters and Kyffin Williams.

[4] Among the prints may be found work by Albrecht Dürer, Agostino Carracci, William Blake and Ceri Richards.