The museum was founded by the District Office in Benešov as the Gallery of Fine Arts in 1990. In the first years, only the exhibition hall, open studio and media room served the public. The exhibitions continued a forty-year tradition of art presentations in the so-called Ladislav Šíma Hall, a Benesov painter and musician. Acquisition activities, supported by the Czech Museum of Fine Arts and local donors, also developed gradually. A permanent exhibition of regional art, a tea room and later permanent installations of 20th century Czech art - graphics, photography, graphic design, sculpture and painting - were opened to the public.
The museum also uses the external exhibition space in the foyer of the town library for its activities, not only for exhibitions but also for educational and cultural events. Another external exhibition is on the ground floor of the Piarist college at the Church of St. Anne on Masaryk Square. Since 2016, the Benešov underground under the town hall has been under its management, where the so-called Experimenta, an exhibition suitable especially for children's visitors, is currently located.
In addition to managing the collection, the museum's programme focuses on organising cultural events, lectures, talks, concerts, film screenings and art workshops for the public. At present, its collection includes objects from the fields of painting, graphics, photography, sculpture and design. There are approximately 13,000 objects in the collection, for which new depositories are now being created in connection with the renovation of the main building. The Museum is a member of the Council of Galleries of the Czech Republic and the Association of Museums and Galleries of the Czech Republic.
The long-term exhibition on the history of the Benešov region, which belongs to the Benešov branch of the Museum of Podblanicko, is also temporarily accessible through the Museum of Art - it is closed as of 2 October 2023 and will move to the Piarist College, where it should open in 2025 at the earliest.