The gallery is located in a former ammunition warehouse from the 18th century. The gallery, which was founded in the 1990s, is the art centre of Ida-Viru County. The collection of Russian art given to the Narva City Museum by Mr. and Mrs. Lavretsov, which was considered the best provincial museum collection in the Baltic countries at the beginning of the 20th century, is stored here.

In addition to the permanent collection, exhibitions of modern Estonian and West-European art are organised. The permanent exhibition also features medieval wooden sculptures from Narva Church, which were saved from the war, as well as the porcelain collection of the Lavretsovs.