Construction of the museum was financed from the profits generated by the Oslo municipal cinemas and opened its doors in 1963 to commemorate what would have been Munch's 100th birthday.

[5] The museum had in its permanent collection well over half of the artist's entire production of paintings and at least one copy of all his prints.

Myklebust also played an important role in the expansion and renovation of the museum in 1994 for the 50th anniversary of Munch's death.

[12][16] The new museum has been widely criticised for its design, where it has been branded the unofficial world's largest collection of guard rails.

[2][20] On Sunday, 22 August 2004, two paintings by Munch, The Scream and Madonna, were stolen from the Munch Museum by armed robbers who forced the museum guards to lie on the floor while they snapped the cable securing the paintings to the wall.