The maiden edition of FIAC, then called Salon international d'art contemporain, was held in 1974 in the disused Bastille railway station. The event changed its name to FIAC and made its new home at the Grand Palais in 1977.
 
A regular October event, it soon became an international meeting point for gallery owners, collectors, specialists and amateurs of modern art, contemporary art and design. During the 1980s, FIAC opened its doors to photography.
 
In 1993, the closure of the Nave led FIAC to find new temporary homes. However, when the Nave reopened, it was, in 2006, the first art exhibition to return. In doing so it attracted numerous gallery owners, many of them from other countries, and 120 galleries which, that year, presented promising young artists and some of the biggest names in modern art: Pollock, Picasso, Warhol, Calder.
 
For the 34^th edition in 2007, FIAC welcomed 179 galleries from 23 countries. This edition was marked by the arrival of prestigious new talents, and specific sections including monographic exhibitions (Picabia's erotic works, Dubuffet, Matta, Josh Smith) or twin exhibitions (Joan Mitchell/Louise Bourgeois, Warhol/Fontana/Moffet, Serra/Chillida), and a number of outstanding works by artists like Picasso, Soulages, Basquiat, and Martin Barré. Finally, the installation of the design sector, facing the modern and contemporary galleries, enabled an exciting dialogue.