The art museum was housed in various downtown locations and Rose Park before the current facility was renovated in 1992.

Recent acquisitions include artwork by James Surls, Andy Warhol, Melissa Miller, David Bates, Helen Altman, Russell Lee, Bob Stuth-Wade, Beili Liu, Vernon Fisher and others.

Recent exhibitions include Texas Modernists; Home on the Range: Where the Prairie Meets the Plains in Central West Texas; Beili Liu: Stratus; Julie Speed: Paper Cut; Drawn In / Drawn Out: Contemporary Drawing and Melissa Miller: Habitat.

The history galleries on the third-floor feature permanent exhibits of recreations of 1906, 1926, and 1946 Abilene parlors and kitchens, a 1920 Grace Hotel guestroom, and a historic bootmakers shop.

The gallery features a replica of Abilene's Paramount Theatre, an interactive sound wall, Texas tornado, life-size Operation game, children's art exhibits, a dinner, and a historic Dixie Pig Restaurant sign.

The Drake Hotel eventually ceased operation in 1973 after passenger railroad traffic and subsequently downtown Abilene declined thought the 1960s.