The purchases of works by local artists and the acceptance of donations were the two major influences on the development of the permanent collection until the museum moved into the Cultural Center for the Arts in 1970.
In its early days (1935–1945), the museum served largely as an exhibition and meeting place for local artists; at the time, collecting was not a prime objective.
In the 1990s, the museum presented a broad variety of exhibits, including innovative projects such as Ubuntu Roi and The Power of If involving students, teachers and area artists.
Docent-led school tours are available for current exhibitions and art experience days allow students to participate in hands-on projects.
The CMA is a regular meeting place for a number of community and civic organizations such as the Rotary, the Canton Garden Club, and Prime Time, a seniors group affiliated with a local hospital.
The Canton Museum of Art’s Permanent Collection Foescon is 19th, 20th and 21st-century American works on paper and contemporary ceramics, 1950s and forward.
Included in his gift were works by Burchfield, Demuth, Feininger, Henri, Keller, Marin, Maurer, Prendergast, Shinn and Sommer.
Augmenting the watercolor collection are the purchased works of Thomas Hart Benton, Oscar Bluemner, Carolyn Brady, Winslow Homer, Edward Hopper, George Luks, Jan Multaka, Joseph Raffael, John Singer Sargent and Andrew Wyeth.
The collection contains works by Jack Earl, Maija Grotell, Marilyn Levine, Toshiko Takaezu and Patti Warashina among others.
Since 1992, the Museum has purchased watercolors by Thomas Hart Benton, Oscar Bluemner, Carolyn Brady, Winslow Homer, Edward Hopper, George Luks, Jan Multaka, Joseph Raffael and John Singer Sargent.
The ceramic collection was supplemented with purchases of works by Brother Thomas Bezanson, Ken Ferguson, Karen Karnes, Roberta Laidman and Victor Spinski.