The National Gallery of Art was established by Decree No. 86 of August 1993 — a parastatal of the Federal Government of Nigeria and the nation's foremost institution for modern and contemporary visual art.

Its creation fulfilled the provisions of Nigeria's Cultural Policy launched in 1988, endorsed by UNESCO's World Decade for Cultural Development, and later reaffirmed by the Vision 2010 Committee and the Ahmed Joda Panel in 2000.

For decades, cultural experts, the Zaria Art Society, the Society of Nigerian Artists, and art administrators lobbied intensively for an autonomous national gallery. Their petitions — championed by figures including Prof. Dele Jegede and the pioneer Director-General Paul Chike Dike — led to the approval of the gallery by then Head of State General Ibrahim Babangida.

The NGA holds a unique distinction: it is the only cultural parastatal simultaneously backed by an enabling decree, UNESCO recommendation, approval in Nigeria's Cultural Policy, and the Vision 2010 Committee report.