Founded in 1948 as a branch of the Hawke's Bay and East Coast Art Society, the Gisborne Art Society became an independent body in 1954. Kelvin Rise, a spacious old homestead, was acquired on very favourable terms, and subsequent donations from the Maori community and others financed the remodelling of the building to provide for an art gallery, museum, Maori wing, and custodian's flat. The society presented the gallery and museum to the City of Gisborne, maintenance costs being shared by the City Council and the Art Society. The society stages at least three exhibitions annually, two by local artists and one by Poverty Bay school children, as well as a series of loan exhibitions.

Members' subscriptions provide the main finance and there is a small permanent collection displayed whenever the gallery is free.