[1] It was founded as the Provincetown Art Association on August 22, 1914,[2] with the mission of collecting, preserving, exhibiting and educating people about the work of Cape Cod artists.

[6][8][9] On August 22, 1914, a group of prominent artists along with local business men and women established the Provincetown Art Association.

Other artists involved included Gerrit Beneker, Oliver Newberry Chaffee, Edwin Dickinson, Oscar Gieberich, Frank H. Desch,[10]: 9  Charles Demuth, Marsden Hartley,[11] Kenneth Stubbs.

In 1916, the town was hailed as "The Biggest Art Colony in the World", known for its innovative Impressionist and Futurist artists emphasizing color and light.

[24] PAAM strengthened its role as the anchor of the art colony through the purchase of two plots of land and construction of a dedicated exhibition space.

Three sculpture gardens surround the building, named for James and Frances Bakker, Berta Walker, and Donald E Butterfield.

[5] The renovation project has also received a 2006 American Institute of Architects Merit Award for Design Excellence, and recognition within the AIA's 2007 Committee on the Environment (COTE).

They included John Worthington Gregory, Chaim Gross, Charles Anton Kaeselau, Karl Knaths, Dorothy Loeb, Philip Malicoat, Ross Moffett, Fritz Pfeiffer, George David Yater and Blanche Lazzell.

In the absence of a functioning board, volunteers still managed to mount one independent show in 1942 and two in 1943 despite the challenges created by wartime gasoline rationing, conscription, blackouts and economic hardships.

[10]: 94–98 By 1947, the regular schedule of two summer exhibitions had been reestablished along with catalog printing, with new artists featured such as Madeleine L'Engle, Ione Gaul Walker, Howard Mitcham, Xavier Gonzalez and Adolph Gottlieb.

[10]: 107  Gottlieb was closely involved with Forum 49, a summer-long program series in 1949 organized by Weldon Kees, Fritz Bultman, and Cecil Hemley to challenge views on art.

[41] The rise of Abstract Expressionism—which had been established in Provincetown by the opening of Hans Hofmann's summer school in 1934[42]—again ruffled the arts community during the '50s.

[43][44][45][46] American Figurative Expressionism is suggested to have reached its zenith in Provincetown at this time, through the works of artists including Jan Müller, Bob Thompson and Tony Vevers.

[54] The new studio classrooms offer spaces for children and youth education programs, as well as for adult courses in the Lillian Orlowsky William Freed Museum School at PAAM.

[30] Select art historical events in Provincetown over the past 100 years PAAM's permanent collection features artists who have lived and worked on the Outer Cape.

Some artists represented in the collection include Mary Cecil Allen, Janice Biala, Varujan Boghosian, Florence Bradshaw Brown, George Elmer Browne, Oliver Newberry Chaffee, Carmen Cicero, Sue Coe, Charles Demuth, Martha Dewing Woodward, Edwin Dickinson, Lynne Mapp Drexler, Ethel Edwards, Dorothy Eisner, Nancy Maybin Ferguson, Perle Fine, Helen Frankenthaler, Eliza Gardiner, Jan Gelb, Dorothy Lake Gregory, Chaim Gross, Mimi Gross, Lily Harmon, Charles Webster Hawthorne, Marion Campbell Hawthorne, Henry Hensche, Hans Hofmann, Edna Boies Hopkins, Josephine Hopper, Daisy Marguerite Hughes, Lila Katzen, Franz Kline, Karl Knaths, Lee Krasner, Betty Lane, Toni LaSelle, Miriam Laufer, Blanche Lazzell, Lucy L'Engle, Dorothy Loeb, William H. Littlefield, Ethel Mars, Mildred McMillen, Ross Moffett, Jeannie Motherwell, Robert Motherwell, Seong Moy, Mary Spencer Nay, Lillian Orlowsky, Anne Packard, Jane Piper, Ellen Ravenscroft, Man Ray, Mischa Richter, John Singer Sargent, Helen Alton Sawyer, Shelby Shackelford, Selina Trieff, Jack Tworkov, Andy Warhol, Agnes Weinrich and Edith Lake Wilkinson.

Life drawing sessions are offered twice a week year-round, and the Museum School holds open print studio hours during the winter.

Fall, winter, and spring courses include week-long master classes, multi-week workshops, and semester-long offerings.

This exciting program exemplifies PAAM's commitment to year-round educational opportunities for absolute beginners, established artists, and everyone in between.

Art Reach, a 28-week after-school program created in conjunction with Provincetown High School, runs from October through May.