[3] The Colombian priest and leader of el Minuto de Dios, Rafael García Herreros, had called publicly three years earlier for the country to have a museum.

[4] One of the objectives with the founding of this museum was to preserve national heritage by collecting different artistic works produced in Colombia.

[4][5] The museum's building, designed by architects Jairo López and Eduardo del Valle was formally inaugurated by President Misael Pastrana Borrero in 1970.

[7] In 2009, in the main square of the museum, the process of expansion and renovation of the sculpture collection began.

[8] At the point of its founding, the museum's collection contained 55 works by 52 artists.