The central nucleus of the Archbishop Makarios III Foundation Gallery is the collection of West European works of art which were purchased in 1963 by the late Ethnarch Makarios III.
These works which belonged to the well known collector and antiquities lover  Nicos Dikaios, consul of Cyprus in Lyon of France, focus on matters which concern modern Greece and the war for independence but include also themes from the Bible, Mythology, as well as landscapes and portraits.
Dominant in this collection, which covers the period from the 15th century, are mainly 19th century works, and the most significant  schools of west European painting like the Italian, the French, the Flemish, the German and the Spanish are presented.
The total number of works on display in the two rooms of the Gallery in the external wing (floor A and B) is described as outstanding although among the genuine, dated and signed works, there are also some works which constitute copies of the time while others constitute preparative works of famous painters for complete large size works of theirs.The external rooms of the gallery on the first and second floors were inaugurated on 18 January 1982 and contain west European paintings, engravings and maps. While the internal rooms on the corresponding Floors, were inaugurated on 19 January 1988 with works from the contemporary Cyprus and Greek production of paintings. 
A significant place in the collection of the gallery is held by works with a historic theme such as those which depict the Greek Revolution of 1821, the Cyprus Liberation Struggle of 1955-59 and the Turkish invasion of Cyprus of 1974, since they are of particular importance to the history of the Greek Nation and Cyprus.