The museum, which opened in January 1995, is the life work of Dina Vierny, whom the sculptor met when she was 15 years old. She became his model and his muse; he needed her to express the beauty of the body. Dina Vierny also posed for Matisse, Bonnard and Dufy. In 1964, she donated to the state those of Maillol's sculptures that are now on show in the fresh air of the Jardin des Tuileries, facing the Louvre. This was the first step for Dina in creating her Foundation, dedicating all of her energies to it for the 30 years that followed.

Following the commencement of renovations in 2015, the Musée Maillol reopened its doors in September 2016. Today, the museum boasts an impressive 4,250m² of exhibition space. The permanent collection of works by Aristide Maillol has been reworked with the aim of making the visitor experience more coherent. The collection is now housed on the second floor, although the thoroughfares on the ground floor and first floor are still decorated with life-size statues by the sculptor. The exhibit, which is both chronological and thematic in nature, is spread over several rooms: the early painters and wood sculptures (1880-1900), tapestries (1895-1900), the creation of bronze, terracotta and plasterwork statuettes, the emblematic life-size sculptures, the collection of small drawings and finally, a double space displaying works from 1930 to 1940, including his last paintings and large-scale drawings.

In addition to its permanent collection, the Musée Maillol also offers temporary exhibitions of contemporary art. It is open every day from 10:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. and until 9:30 p.m. every Friday during exhibitions.