This museum features a small and manageable collection of contemporary and modern art, around 80% of which is dedicated to local works. The permanent collection features some of Portugal's best-known artists, most notably sculptor Dorita de Castel-Branco and painters Columbano Bordalo Pinheiro and António Carneiro.

　　Temporary exhibitions run the gamut from war photography to abstract art. Permanent highlights include Carneiro's Maria Josefina, Maria do Céu Crispim's Can You See Me? (made of nails), and several paintings from various artists of Sintra's 18th-century glory days.