The National Art Museum, a cultural treasure of Belarus, which has one of the largest collections in Eastern Europe, celebrates its 85th anniversary today.
The National Art Museum was founded in Minsk according to the resolution of the Council of People's Commissars of the BSSR of January 24, 1939 as the State Picture Gallery of the BSSR. Its opening took place on November 8, 1939. In 15 spacious halls there were masterpieces of painting, graphics and sculpture. Under the competent management of the talented artist-ceramist Nikolai Miholap it was possible to form rich collections of fine arts.
The basis of the pictorial collection of the gallery were works from the fine art departments of historical museums of Minsk, Vitebsk, Mogilev and Gomel. Several works from their collections were donated by the Tretyakov Gallery and the Russian Museum, the Pushkin Museum of Fine Arts and the State Hermitage Museum. The collection of the new gallery includes works by famous Soviet artists.
After the reunification of the Western Belarusian lands with the BSSR in September 1939, the gallery received works from the nationalized estates and castles of Western Belarus, including a part of the collection of the Palace of the BSSR.
