The museum first opened on February 1, 1922, as the Akron Art Institute. It was located in two borrowed rooms in the basement of the public library.[1] The Institute offered classes in arts appreciation which were organized by Edwin Coupland Shaw and his wife Jennifer Bond Shaw.[2] Its first permanent home was the Akron Public Library, a Carnegie library building, from 1948 to 1981.[3] It has grown considerably since 1922. The new museum was open to the public on July 17, 2007, and hosts visiting shows from national and international collections.