The collection exhibited at the museum consists of numerous oil paintings, watercolours and drawings, along with other collections of modern art. Prestigious artists such as Miró, Percebal and Tápies were among those who donated artworks to the museum. Zabaleta was linked to the Paris school of artists and his painting style was mainly inspired by the avant-garde movement, which imbued his landscapes with an air of metaphysical solitude. He was also strongly influenced by Picasso and Modigliani throughout his career, acquiring from the former the characteristic robustness of his nudes and Parisian outdoor scenes. The Quesada-born artist is most readily identifiable from the paintings he made of the place of his birth, however, as a result of their simple and accurate drawing and the luminous use of colour in the rural and traditional scenes that provide a faithful record of the times in which he lived.

The name of Zabaleta is also associated with a prestigious international competition of painting and sculpture, which has been held in Quesada since 1970. Winning entries become part of the museum's art collection.