The building is an example of rationalist architecture dating from 1939, and was designed by Romualdo de Madariaga. Its original purpose was as the Bank of Spain however, in the eighties the Ministry of Finance decided to do away with any main branches that were not located in province capitals so it became property of the city.

The Casa das Artes Gallery opened in 1990 and since then has become the most important facility for temporary exhibitions in Vigo. Exhibitions include many art forms such as architecture, photography, painting and sculpture by contemporary Galician artists and twentieth century international vanguard art.

With such a broad and diverse range of exhibitions, the Casa das Artes aspires to become a home of culture and art in all its shapes and forms.

The gallery also contains several collections from the city, such as the Laxeiro Foundation and the Pacheco Photograph Collection. In 1998, The Torras Collection was also donated to the city by local artist Luis Torras. Torras is considered one of the greatest figures in contemporary Galician art and the collection includes a selection of his best works. The collection is made up of 67 paintings, mostly landscapes and portraits. The artist’s technique is meticulous with a distinct fauvistic style, with traces of post-impressionism rooted in cubism.