Construction of the project for his own residence, conceived by Meštrović, began in the late 1920s and his ideas were developed by the architects Lavoslav Horvat and Harold Bilinić. The work on the eastern and the western wing of the building, with an atelier, workshops, residential spaces, and a central hall, lasted from 1931 to 1939. After everything was completed, the estate was horticulturally decorated and Mediterranean plants were planted. The artist did not enjoy his villa for any significant amount of time, and after the Italian occupation of the city, it was mostly inhabited by his friends and family. In 1952, with an act of donation, Meštrović donated his four buildings and 132 works of art to the Croatian people. The Gallery holds his masterpieces made of marble, bronze, gypsum, and wood. Along with the museum holdings, the Gallery also keeps the documents about the life and work of Ivan Meštrović, as well as the family archives containing letters and documents of the family members.