McManus Galleries and Museum is a splendid Gothic Revival-style building housing Dundee's main collection. The museum was established in part of the Albert Institute, which was designed by Sir George Gilbert Scott - regarded at the time as the leading architect in the Gothic style - and opened in 1867 in commemoration of Queen Victoria's beloved husband Albert. A further addition in 1887, during Queen Victoria's Golden Jubilee year, expanded the complex and provided further art galleries and exhibition space. Typical of many Victorian institutions established during this period, its purpose was to make more widely available artefacts from the local area and around the world for public education.

Growth in interest and the need for a new library premises allowed the museum a significant expansion during the mid 1980s, taking over what had previously been the Library and reading rooms. At this point, the building was renamed the McManus Galleries in commemoration of the Lord Provost Maurice McManus OBE.