[2] The Artists' Society routinely practices a range of art forms and styles through classes and gatherings in their permanent home, a heritage-listed bluestone building on Albert Street, Melbourne, opposite St. Patrick's Cathedral.

As of 2021, the Victorian Artists' Society premises include four galleries, members’ rooms, an administrative office, and the original bluestone studio which operates as an art school.

[6] The Victorian Academy of Arts was formed in 1870 with "about twenty artists and amateurs" amongst its first members,[7] including Eliezer Levi Montefiore.

[8] The Australian Artists' Association held its first exhibition in 1886, with works by Tom Roberts, Louis Buvelot, Frederick McCubbin, and Arthur Streeton.

[12] This historical building was not limited to fine arts and was also established as a music conservatory that offered singing lessons by Nellie Melba.

[12]Max Meldrum, the Victorian Artists’ Society president in 1917, taught tonal realism at the gallery studio.

Meldrum ran this society in its early stages from his studio in Hardware Chambers, Elizabeth Street, Melbourne.

[19] To celebrate 150 years of the Artists’ Society on March 10, 2020, the Governor of Victoria, Linda Dessau AC, gave a speech saying “almost every notable Australian painter from the late 19th to early 20th centuries was associated with the VAS.

According to Professor Miles Lewis of the Australian Architectural Index, the building was originally one-story with measurements of 14.3m x 9.1 x 6m, built by Corben & Stuart.

[12] In 2015, the historic building was threatened by severe water damage and needed urgent restoration repairs for a cost of approximately $1 million.

[16] According to the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission AIS report published 30 July 2020, 9.46% of the total gross income of the Victorian Artists’ Society was from donations and bequests.

In the year 2020, over $650,000 of the society's gross income was from donations and bequests, which in large part paid for the completion of the building restoration.

Arthur Ernest Streeton painted ‘Settler’s Camp’ and ‘Pastoral’, both exhibited and sold at the Victorian Artists Society in 1888.

After his time at the Victorian Artists Society, Streeton worked for the Royal Academy of Arts in London in 1891.

Tom Roberts, alongside Streeton a former member of the Artists’ Society has been called the founder of Australian Impressionism.

[23] Charles Conder studied at the Art Society School during the 1880s where he exhibited his impressionist painting ‘Departure of the Orient – Circular Quay’ in 1888.

[24] Conder sold this painting to the Art Gallery of New South Wales that same year, before leaving to work with Streeton in Melbourne and joining the Victorian Artists’ Society.

[25] This exhibition represented impressions of bushlands and city life during a formative period of national Australian history.

[13] In October 2019, the newly renovated Victorian Artists’ Society hosted “FIVE Exhibition” by the FIVE Melbourne Art Group.

This exhibition included landscapes, streetscapes, and portrait paintings from Ted Dansey, Mary Hyde, Julian Bruere, John Hunt, and Lucille Tam.