Contemporary art galleries or commercial art galleries have the purpose of selling art rather than simply displaying it. There are as many different types of these art galleries are there are types of art. Many of these galleries are just in the business of selling works of art and will offer pretty much whatever is available. Other art galleries tend to specialize in one type of art or another.

Regards of the type of gallery, the purposes of the commercial art gallery are to get art in front of the public. This is not done so much for educational or purely art appreciation reasons, but to make sales and profit. This statement is not intended to make them sound overly crass. Art galleries have encouraged the progress of art by providing opportunity to artists to exhibit their work and make a living. It might be said that the art museum is the place for the art of the past and the art gallery is the place for the art of the future.