The Cedar Rapids Museum of Arts is a private museum which was established in the year 1905 by a community group. In 1930 to 1935, the Association ran The Little Gallery. During the early 1960s, The Association acquired the Torch Press Building and renamed it as the Cedar Rapids Arts Center.

In mid-1980s, the Museum was able to acquire the building which was once the site of the Cedar Rapids Public Library when it was transferred to another site. The present home of the Cedar Rapids Museum of Arts was built beside the library. The new Cedar Rapids Museum was opened officially in 1989.

In 2002, the original Grant Wood Studio was awarded to The Cedar Rapids Museum of Arts. Wood was a great artist who resided in the place from 1924 to 1935.

In 2008, a flood devastated the downtown of Cedar Rapids. The lower parts of the museum were heavily damaged. The Cedar Rapids Museum of Arts had just constructed a storage device amounting to $200,000 merely six months before the flood. The prized collections of the Cedar Rapids Museum of Arts were placed in a safe area and the collection was free from damage.