Its collection includes works by Rembrandt, Carel Fabritius, Carlo Saraceni and Hieronymus Francken II.

It bears similarities with the extensive painting collection of Prince-Archbishop Hieronymus Colloredo, which was exhibited during his era (late 18th century) in rooms that are now the Residenzgalerie.

A new collection was proposed shortly after the First World War by a group of Salzburg artists, and the Residenzgalerie was opened in 1923.

Assembled between 1800 and 1845, the collection's original owner was Count Johann Rudolf Czernin von und zu Chudenitz, who studied law in Salzburg and was related to Archbishop Hieronymus Colloredo.

Also important are a number of works from the collection of Friedrich Karl, Count Schönborn-Buchheim (1674–1746), featuring mostly Dutch and Italian artists of the 17th century, which the gallery acquired on permanent loan in 1956.