Located on the Mall in Sligo town, north of the Garavogue river, The Model was designed by architect James Owen for the then Board of Works.

[1] The original building was a purpose-built school, constructed in 1862, by local contractors Messrs Patrick Keighron & Son at a cost of £8000.

The extension also created a complete gallery circuit for the visitor, a new reception area, bookstore and cafe.

[7] The €2.9 million grant, minus 600,000 already spent on groundworks for Sligo museum was switched to the Model Arts project in late 2008.

It contains over 300 works, including pieces by Paul Henry, Louis le Brocquy, Estella Solomons, George Russell and Jack Butler Yeats.

[citation needed] As of 2021, the museum is run by its Artistic Director / CEO, Emer McGarry, with support from administrative, educational, and other staff.

[citation needed] Former artists in residence include Nasan Tur, Yorgos Sapountzis, Elizabeth Price, Barbara Breitenfellner, and Caoimhin O'Raghallaigh.

[citation needed] On 20 May 2015 the English royal, Prince Charles made a speech at The Model during a visit to promote reconciliation to the scene of Lord Mountbatten's death by an IRA bomb in 1979 at Mullaghmore, County Sligo.

Former President of the Yeats Summer School, Michael Keohane called the renaming a "public disgrace".

[14] The renaming was also called "absurd" by Bruce Arnold in an opinion piece in the Irish Independent in August 2009.