The benefactor, James Shoolbred Gibbes, donated $100,000 to the Carolina Arts Association for the "erection of a suitable building for the exhibitions of paintings."

[5] Zacharias started work on September 28, 1903, removing the remains of the South Carolina Agricultural Hall that had occupied the lot.

[6] Although work on the foundations had begun already, a ceremony was held on December 8, 1903, to lay the cornerstone of the building at the northeast corner.

[8] After closing in the early 21st century for an extensive two-year, $13.5 million renovation, the museum reopened to the public on May 28, 2016.

In renovating the museum, the development teams used the original blueprints, discovered in the City of Charleston archives in 2008, to return the building to its 1905 Beaux Arts style layout.