The museum is housed within an 1878 hôtel particulier designed by architect Nicolas-Félix Escalier [fr].

It was inaugurated as a museum on 7 March 1924 by Léon Bérard, Minister of Public Instruction.

[1] The museum's holdings include a large collection of paintings and drawings by Alsatian painter Jean-Jacques Henner, as well as some 1,000 sketches, documents and souvenirs.

The collection includes more than 130 portraits, as well as paintings of mythical themes and figures in dream landscapes that approach the work of the Symbolists.

[2] Many preparatory studies are displayed alongside finished paintings, together with descriptions and evaluations by contemporary critics.