The building was designed for the International Art and Technical Exhibition in 1937.
The museum opened in 1961 with, in particular, a core of works from the “modern” collections of the Petit Palais, and was enriched due to the generosity of the collectors Emanuele Sarmiento, Mathilde Amos and Ambroise Vollard.
The 1937 exhibition provided the opportunity for some remarkable acquisitions including: The Dance by Matisse, Nude in the bath and The Garden by Bonnard, The Cardiff Team by Robert Delaunay, The River by Derain, Discs by Léger, The Stopover by Lhote, The Blue Bird by de Metzinger, four Artists’ Portraits by Vuillard, furniture by Pierre Chareau, André Arbus, Jacques Emile Ruhlmann, which still number among the museum’s masterpieces, not forgetting the large murals by Robert and Sonia Delaunay, Albert Gleizes and Jacques Villon, acquired during the exhibition (donated by the Salon des Réalités Nouvelles in 1939). The Girardin bequest in 1953 was a decisive contribution and persuaded the authorities to move from the cramped galleries of the Petit Palais and to open a dedicated area within the Palais de Tokyo.