The move added another dimension to the gallery's draw, as its current building was designed in the early 19th century by prominent architect Christian Hansen.

"Although the Municipal Art Gallery was formerly housed in the charming building on Koumoundourou Square, designed by Panagis Kalkos - who also designed the old town hall in Kotzia Square - we decided to relocate to solve some serious problems," explains Gallery and Museum City of Athens Director Mrs. Nelli Kyriazis.

The collection was set up in 1923 by their respective mayors and enlightened managers of the Municipal Gallery, as reported by Ms. Kyriazis, referring first to Papapanagiotou Stavros the first director then to Spyros Papaloukas, who held this position from the 1940s until his death in 1957.

The big names of the collection include Georgios Jakobides, Angelos Giallinas, Nikolaos Lytras, George Bouzianis, Agenor Asteriadis, Yiannis Moralis and other "precursors" of the generation such as Gerasimos Steris.

The first major exhibition of the new Municipal Art Gallery will be a world "premiere" of the collection of businessman and collector, Mr.George Economou.

Hansen came to Athens at the time of King Otto, where the subsequent city was just a small town with a poor residential environment, save the Acropolis and its monuments to give it the grandeur of the romantic symbol.

Theophilus, ten years younger than Christian, designed the Academy, the Observatory, the Palace Demetriou, and then Hotel Grande Bretagne.

In 1875, the introduction of silk imports from China forced the operation to close down despite the efforts of A. Douroutis to sustain the business.