The building was constructed after the war and completed in late 1949. Representatives of the British Council used the building as a State Library until 1958.

In 1959, the building was handed back to Sarawak to be used as a state museum and archive for reference by curators and researchers from around the world. On 20 September 2006, the Sarawak Museum of Art was opened to the public and it was officially opened by Pehin Seri Hj. Taib Mahmud represented by Minister Datuk Haji Hamdan.