The museum is located on land acquired by the Central Reserve Bank of Peru (BCRP) in 1922 to occupy the bank's first premises. The bank building was inaugurated on January 2, 1929, inspired by the Italian architecture of the Renaissance period.[1] It was unique at the time, as the materials used in its construction allowed for the building to have a considerable height.[2]
The museum was inaugurated in 1982 by Carlos Rodríguez Saavedra and reopened in 2017, under the direction of Ulla Holmquist [es].[3]
Since 2008, it organises the National Painting Contest (Spanish: Concurso Nacional de Pintura), which grants a cash prize to the winner.[4] On June 25, 2019, the Diálogos desde lo contemporáneo art exhibition was inaugurated with the winning works of the contest.[5]