The museum began under the auspices of the Taiwan Provincial Government's department of education, established as part of a policy to strengthen cultural development on the island. Its original name, Museum of Art, reflected a more modest ambition. Then the 921 earthquake struck in 1999, damaging the building badly enough to force closure for five years of renovation. When it reopened in July 2004, it did so under new management and a new name. The Council of Cultural Affairs, later restructured as the Ministry of Culture on May 20, 2012, took jurisdiction and renamed it the National Taiwan Museum of Fine Arts. The earthquake had, paradoxically, given the museum the opportunity to reimagine itself at a national scale.

The museum's design intentionally blurs the boundary between interior and exterior. A transparent corridor connects the galleries to the outdoor landscape, creating a spatial transition that dissolves the traditional separation between exhibition space and public park. With a building area of 37,953 square meters and an exhibition area of 13,525 square meters spread across 16 galleries, a gallery street, and a main lobby, the scale is immense. But the outdoor spaces are where the museum's ambitions become most visible. The sculpture park showcases the development of Taiwanese sculptural art through 45 works installed along paths and lawns. The stone tablet forest preserves 50 calligraphic tablets in traditional inkbrush styles. The Calligraphy Greenway, a linear park running through the museum's grounds, connects the institution to the surrounding city.

Since reopening in 2004, NTMoFA has positioned itself as a hub for digital art in Asia. International digital art exhibitions, forums, and events have been held on-site to showcase work from countries around the world. In 2007, the museum established DigiArt, the Digital Art Creativity and Resource Center, dedicated to building the infrastructure for digital arts in Taiwan. A Cyclorama Theater was constructed in 2008 to house commissioned and juried digital works. The Digital Technology and Visual Arts Collaborative Project, initiated in 2012, promotes cross-disciplinary work between artists and technologists. A biennial exhibition series, launched in 2007, has expanded the museum's international networks and deepened Taiwan's dialogue with the global art scene.

The museum's collection focuses on works by Taiwanese artists, spanning modern and contemporary art. The Collection Committee selects representative works annually, and donations from individuals and organizations form a significant portion of the holdings. The Young Artist Collection Project, an open call held each year, acquires outstanding work from emerging creators, ensuring the collection evolves with each generation. A library of over 119,000 titles supports research, including more than 77,000 books, 29,000 periodicals, and nearly 9,000 multimedia collections. A Family Room designed for children offers hands-on activities tied to current exhibitions. The museum charges no admission except for special exhibitions, a policy that treats access to art not as a luxury but as a public right.