Though built in 1774, the gallery has not been continuously open, mostly because the collection was abducted by the French 20 years after it opened and another 20 years passed before most of the works were recovered. In the meantime another gallery was opened in nearby
Huis ten Bosch and undeterred by events, Prince William continued collecting art for a new gallery. After recovery of most important works in 1815, the large collection was re-housed in 1822 in the
Mauritshuis. The old location was kept on as an archive. It wasn't reopened as an art gallery until 1977.
Original 1774 gallery The collection of paintings of the gallery had been established by previous
stadtholders of the Netherlands, members of the
House of Orange-Nassau. Prince William V inherited the family collection when he was just four years old, after his father died. At that time the paintings were spread out over a number of his residences. The prince took up a special interest in paintings and made his first buy when he was fifteen years old. Sometimes he would acquire an entire collection, such as the Govert van Slingelandt collection in 1768. In 1763 he instructed his court painter
Tethart Haag to create an
inventory of his extensive collection. The latter also served as
curator to the collection of paintings owned by the
stadtholder and was his chief adviser in the purchase of paintings. The prince aspired to be seen as an equal to the great monarchs of Europe and the possession of a great art collection was, at that time, considered to be an element typical of such a status. He decided to bring his collection together in one location, so he could present it to his guests. To that end he bought two adjacent houses near his residence in The Hague, where he planned for the construction of an art gallery for his collection. During this process Tethart Haag served as his main advisor. The gallery was consequently built in 1773–1774, according to the wishes of the prince and under the direction of Tethart Haag. In 1774 the gallery opened, and in addition to the guests of the prince, it became the first museum in the Netherlands where the general public was allowed to visit. The prince appointed Tethart Haag as the first director of the art gallery-museum. In 1795 the collection was abducted by the French and housed in the
Louvre as war booty. Under a later treaty many paintings were recovered in 1815, but many were not, such as the portrait of William III of Orange, now in the
Museum of Fine Arts of Lyon. File:Paulus Potter - De Stier.jpg|
The Young Bull was displayed in the Louvre for 20 years among Raphaels and Titians that were taken from Italy as war booty File:Salomon Koninck - The Adoration of the Magi - 002.jpg|
The Adoration of the Magi by
Salomon Koninck, was the first painting William V, Prince of Orange, added to the existing collection File:Heem-Jan-Davidsz-de Portrait-de-Guillaume-III-d-Orange 1500px.jpg|Portrait of William III of Orange by
Jan Davidsz. de Heem, a war booty taken to France 1795, never to be returned. Some of the more notable works that were abducted to France and came back were: ==Modern gallery==