The idea of creating an art museum in Poltava dates back to the beginning of the 20th century. The latter became a practical embodiment in the spring of 1919, namely on April 27, when a picture gallery was opened at the Central Proletarian Museum (now the Museum of Local History named after V. Krychevskyi). Mykhailo Rudynskyi (repressed in 1934, rehabilitated (posthumously) in 1989) became the ideological founder and its first director, a well-known archaeologist, museologist, scientific secretary of the Poltava Committee for Research and Protection of Ancient and Art Monuments.
The first museum collection was based on the works of the famous Poltava itinerant artist, portraitist Mykola Yaroshenko (1846 – 1898), who bequeathed his works to Poltava on the eve of his death. The artist's "inheritance" included 55 paintings and 100 graphic works. According to the decision of the Poltava City Council in 2008, the Art Museum was named after Mykola Yaroshenko.
Of the almost 40 art museums and art galleries of Ukraine that have state (communal) ownership, the Poltava Art Museum is known for its rich collection of over 10,000 exhibits. Among them are both pictorial and sacral, as well as decorative and useful works of the 17th century - the beginning of XX centuries. Every year, the art museum organizes and holds about 80 different cultural and artistic events, personal exhibitions of artists, educational workshops, lectures, etc. The museum institution is a permanent participant in all international thematic promotions: "Museum Selfi Day", "Slow Art Day", Days of European Heritage, etc. Even in the current difficult conditions caused by the open armed aggression of the Russian Federation against our country, the museum continues its main educational and fundraising mission, including by providing services for IDPs, becoming the founder of new projects "Life among sirens", "Family Sunday", "About that the museum exhibit is silent".
On the occasion of the anniversary of its opening, the Poltava Art Museum (art gallery) named after M. Yaroshenko will work as an "Open Door Day": admission to the institution is free!
