That year, the museum relocated to its present location and was reopened to the public in the Brutalist Arthur Blow Condell building.

Its collection includes over 6,000 works, with a focus on art produced in Alberta, and other parts of western Canada.

[4] The institution was established after Maud Bowman, the museums founding director and president[5][6] enlisted the support of the Edmonton Art Club, and several other business, and political leaders.

[4] During this period, the museum maintained a number of art education classes, as well as exhibiting works on loan from the National Gallery of Canada.

[14] In April 2007, the Arthur Blow Condell building was partially demolished with significant portions of the existing structure incorporated into Stout's design.

[12] The museum's inaugural exhibitions after the renovation included: Edgar Degas: Figures in Motion; Karsh: Image Maker; and The Murder of Crows, the North American premiere of Janet Cardiff and George Bures Miller's sound installation.

[12] The patinated zinc and stainless steel design was intended to demonstrate the museum's "commitment to contemporary art".

[9][19] The original structure on the property that was used by the museum, the Arthur Blow Condell building, was opened in 1969 with designs from Donald G. Bittorf, and B. James Wensley.

[9] The museum building was designed to be accessible with automatic doors and provides wheelchairs upon request, and free admission for accompanying care workers.

[14] The museum's permanent collection began in 1924, although its growth was slowed during the 1930s and 1940s as a result of the Great Depression and the Second World War.

[8] In 2017, the museum received $375,000[25] to acquire works by contemporary First Nations, Inuit and Metis artists for their permanent collection from the Canada Council for the Arts' New Chapter program.

[26] The museum's collection of historical Canadian art includes works by Jack Bush, Emily Carr, Henry George Glyde, Illingworth Kerr, Cornelius Krieghoff, Pegi Nicol MacLeod, James Wilson Morrice, Marion Nicoll, Paul Peel, Bill Reid, Jean-Paul Riopelle, Carl Schaefer, Lilias Torrance Newton, and members of the Group of Seven.

[23] The museum's collection of modern and contemporary art feature works by Canadian artists including Robert Boyer, Janet Cardiff, Chris Cran, Marlene Creates, Dean Drever, Aganetha Dyck, Douglas Haynes, Alex Janvier, Brian Jungen, Rita Letendre, Amy Malbeuf, Liz Magor, Lyndal Osborne, Jane Ash Poitras, and Takao Tanabe.