The Collection of pre-1900 Paintings and Sculptures of the Bratislava City Gallery is exceptional in its scope, specialisation, and broad timeframe. It contains objects from the Gothic period until the end of the 19th century. Its composition has broadened widely following formation of the collection in the Municipal Museum (now the Bratislava City Museum), where it initially comprised a major collection of works by Viktor Tilgner, a local native sculptor, gifted by the author in 1883. These works were gradually expanded through donations, bequests, and acquisitions initiated by museum curators and local patriots. In terms of authorship and provenance, works were mainly related to the local environment, but the collection has expanded to include objects of European art (works by Dutch, Italian, German, and Flemish artists and schools). An important part of the collection consists of works commissioned by the city and its leaders, and works from local family collections, churches, monasteries, and secular institutions.

Focus of the collection is works by artists from Bratislava and its surroundings – Karol Frech, Alojz Rigele, Jozef Blanarovits, Eugen Nemesszeghy, Róbert Kühmayer, Július Schubert, Maximilian Schurmann, Michal Staudt, Vojtech Marx, Ľudovít Pitthordt, Pavol Bán, Štefan Prohászka-Tallós; works by artists of Slovak modernism – Mikuláš Galanda, Ľudovít Fulla, Vincent Hložník, Ernest Zmeták, Imrich Weiner-Kráľ, Eugen Nevan, Ján Mudroch, Peter Matejka, Rudolf Pribiš, Miloš Alexander Bazovský, Jozef Kostka, Zoltán Palugyay, Ladislav Majerský; and works by other Slovak artists.