The Gallery's building, in the Botanic Gardens, was funded by an extremely generous gift of £26,000 by the then managing director of Aulsebrook and Co., Mr. Robert E. McDougall. It was founded with the Canterbury Society of Arts Collection for British and European paintings and the James Jamieson Collection and comprised 160 paintings and sculptures.

In the early years, the exhibition focus was on the display of this modest collection, which expanded slowly through gifts, bequests and purchases. Very few temporary exhibitions were staged before 1949, when W.S. Baverstock was appointed as honorary curator and a diverse programme of changing shows began. International exhibitions have remained an important continuing beat in the programme since the 1950s. But it was not until the appointment of director Brian Muir in 1969 that the gallery set upon a solid exhibition programme with a commitment to New Zealand artists and the development of national touring shows.

During the twelve years 1988 to 2000, the Robert McDougall Art Gallery also operated the "Contemporary Art Annex" in part of the old Canterbury College library in the town site of what became the University of Canterbury (now the Arts Centre). The creation of one of the Gallery's former directors, John Coley, the Annex was used specifically to present work by emerging contemporary artists, particularly those based in Canterbury. The Annex space is now operated by, and under the name of, the University of Canterbury School of Fine Arts Gallery, or SOFA for short.

The Robert McDougall Art Gallery closed its doors as the city's public art gallery on Sunday, 16 June 2002, and the new Christchurch Art Gallery opened in its place on Saturday, 10 May 2003.