An image display apparatus which displays an image, and selectively reads out one of a RAW image and a first developed image obtained by performing a developing process and a compression process for the RAW image, as a candidate image to be displayed following a currently displayed image, from a storage medium storing the RAW image and the first developed image, in accordance with the currently displayed image The apparatus also performs a developing process for the RAW image with higher image quality than the first developed image, performs a decompression process for the developed image, stores the candidate image which is processed by the development or the decompression so as to be displayed, and controls to display the stored candidate image on a display unit by switching from the currently displayed image to the candidate image, in response to an instruction to switch the displayed image.