The Museum of the Academy of Arts is one of the oldest art museums in Russia. It was founded in 1757 together with "the Academy of Three Arts"- painting, sculpture and architecture. Originally, the museum was founded for educational needs and contained the works of the best graduates of the Academy. Gradually, the museum's collections became one of the best in this country.

The museum is in the rooms of the central (round) building of the Academy of Arts designed by Jean-Baptiste Vallin de la Mothe and Alexander Kokorinov and constructed in 1764-1788.

An independent part of the museum is the studio of the great Ukrainian poet and artist Taras Shevchenko who lived and worked in a small apartment located in a wing of the building of the Academy of Arts from 1858 until his death (1861).