The museum building is a 20th century architectural monument and comprises works of Romanian art from the 19th - 20th centuries (paintings by Theodor Aman, Nicolae Grigorescu, Corneliu Baba, Nicolae Tonitza, sculptures by Dimitrie Paciurea, Romulus Ladea), works of European art belonging to the Italian, French, Flemish-Dutch and Hungarian Schools (paintings, tapestry, porcelain, furniture). It was established on the occasion of the first painting exhibition of 1913 in Arad, the works making up the core of the present-day European painting collection.