Guan Shanyue (1912-2000, Yangjiang, Guangdong Province) graduated from the Guangzhou Municipal Teachers Training College in 1933. His early work consisted of sketches made in Southwestern and Northwestern China as well as in the coastal provinces along the Eastern seaboard. During the war, he was engaged in anti-Japanese activities in Macao and Hong Kong. After 1949, he taught for many years, and became a prominent representative of the "Lingnan School". In 1959, he cooperated in work for the Great Hall of the People. In 1979, one of his paintings, reproduced as a poster , was also added to the Great Hall of the People.

Guan, who specialized in Chinese painting, was vice-president of the Chinese Artists Association and president of the Guangdong Studio of Painting.

The Guan Shanyue Art Museum was financed and constructed by the Shenzhen Municipal Government. The foundation was laid in January 1995, and the museum was officially completed and opened on 25 June 1997.