[4] The program formally began in March 1920, when the cabinet minister, Athanase David, announced an initiative where the province would support Quebec-based artists by purchasing their works.

[8][9] The natural history collection was removed from the museum in 1962, and the institution was renamed Musée du Québec the following year.

[8][9] The provincial archives moved from the museum to Université Laval in 1979, leaving the institution with only its art collection.

[7] Wilfrid Lacroix designed the building in a Beaux-Arts style and Joseph-Émile Brunet sculpted the reliefs on the facade.

[9] The building features white marble, wide Victorian style steps, and carved ceilings.

[10] The renovations led to the creation of four exhibition galleries within the pavilion,[10] and a section of preserved jail cells to highlight the building's former use as a prison.

[7] The glass-facade pyramid, known as the Central Pavilion or Grand Hall, was built during the 1989–1991 renovations of the museum complex, and was also designed by Dorval and Fortin.

[8] The pavilion has a glass-enclosed access point from Grande Allée to the rest of the museum complex further within Battlefield Park.

[13] The Office for Metropolitan Architecture designed the 14,900 square metres (160,000 sq ft) pavilion, with the lead partners being Jason Long and Shohei Shigematsu.

[14][15] During the construction of the building, renovations were also undertaken to the museum's tunnel system, transforming them into viewing spaces.

[13] The pavilion largely uses glass and steel for its building material, in an effort to foster transparency between the museum and the general public.

[13] As of March 2019, the museum's permanent collection includes 40,000 works from 4,524 different artists from Quebec, the rest of Canada, and around the world from the 16th century to present day.

[21] The library contains over 13,000 biographical files, in addition to catalogs, monographs, and audiovisual documents relating to art in Canada, and around the world.

Fonds that have been computerized may be accessed from CUBIQ, the central catalogue for publicly operated libraries in Quebec.