Caixa Geral de Depósitos art collection began in 1983 with acquisitions that follow a set of guidelines devised by the board of administrators. After a decade, the entire collection was analysed in parallel with other public and institutional art collections existing in Portugal. Because of this appraisal, among other criteria, it was decided to favour the after 80s artistic production and a recommendation was made that previous works by artists consecrated in the 60s or in the 70s should be also included.

At the turn of the year 2000 the scope of the collection is broadened to contemplate a wider sense of all things Luso, i.e., in addition to Portuguese art, special attention was also paid to the contemporary art production of Brazil, Mozambique, Angola and Cape Verde. After 2004, acquisitions tend to support a deeper understanding of the artists represented and of their career, which is why comprehensive clusters of the same artist can be found in the Collection. As of the year 2006, Culturgest has been put in charge of studying, promoting and curating the Collection - 1,800 works (approximately), which include painting, sculpture, drawing, photography, video, installation and engraving.

The book "Open the box: works in the Colecção da Caixa Geral de Depósitos" (Culturgest and Delfim Sardo, 2009) was the starting point of a journey through the CGD Contemporary Art Collection and its 150 works of art. Now follows the Stories of the Collection project, to uncover each of the eleven key moments of the Collection, from the beginning in 1983 up to the resuming acquisitions in 2021.