It occupies the historic Thomas H. Bayly Building on Rugby Road in Charlottesville, Virginia, a short distance from the Rotunda.

When Lawall assumed the directorship in 1985, the museum entered a phase of dramatic expansion through gifts, purchases and extended loans; by 1995 the collection contained an estimated 8,500 objects.

[9] M. Jordan Love was appointed as full-time academic curator in August 2012, through a grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.

[11] Interactive web-based programming allows students and the general public to access permanent collections and to study individual objects.

[12] Programs of service to the local community include Eyes On Art, for Alzheimer's patients and their caregivers, Early Visions, which partners university student docents with children from the Charlottesville Boys and Girls Clubs, and Writer's Eye, which invites children and adults to submit original prose and poetry inspired by works of art in the museum, providing visitors with opportunities to explore varied cultures and historical periods.