The Art Gallery of Armenia, opened in 1921, is one of the richest museums of the world. Its extensive collection of Armenian, Western European, Russian Art numbers over 19000 items. Hermitage (Saint Petersburg) and the Tretyakov Gallery (Moscow) transferred valuable pictures to the newly founded museum in 1922.

A special section of the museum is devoted to the art of Armenian artists living abroad. Their works, bearing the imprint of cultural traditions of the countries where they happen to live, are imbued with a nostalgic longing of the artists for their motherland.

The old Armenian subdivision owns the works of famous Armenian artists of the early mediaeval and the succeeding periods. The section of the Armenian Middle Ages exhibits imitations of canvases by the miniaturists Toros Roslin, Sarkis Pitsak, Grigor Tatevatsi and others. A number of rare samples of mural painting, preserved in the monasteries and churches of Tatev and Haghpat, have been transferred to the gallery along with specimens of the applied arts.

Armenian painting of modern times is represented by the productions of Hakob Hovnatanian, a magnificent adept of portrait painting of the past century, his contemporary Stepanos Ner-cissian, the immortal sea-scapist Hovhannes Ayvazovsky, the gorgeous landscapes of Gevork Bashinjaghian, the refined multi-genre art of Vartkes Soureniants, the colourful canvases of Yeghishe Tadevossian and Panos Terlemezian, Edgar Shahins wonderful etchings pervaded with deep-souled feelings, Hakob Gyurjians exalted, highly expressive sculptures.

Very emotive painterly atmosphere is created by the works of the artists belonging to the famous Barbizon School: Narcisse Diaz de la Pena, Theodore Rousseau, Eugene Boudin, Adolfe Monticelli and Vincent Van Gogh. The collection of Russian art is represented by works of such artists as Brulov, Repin, Suricov, Levitski, Tropinin, Borovitski, Serov and other masters. The section of Armenian art includes different branches of national art, graphics and sculpture. It has rich collections of works by Ayvazovsky, Shahin, Sarian, Yakulov, Gyourjian, Kodjoyan, Festadjian and many other prominent masters.