The Museum of Arts of Uzbekistan was founded in 1918 and was originally called the Museum of the People's University. Later, it was known as the Central Art Museum and the Tashkent Museum of Arts, and since the mid-1930s, it has been known as the Museum of Arts of Uzbekistan.

From its founding until 1935, the museum was located in the building of the Romanov Palace, then for thirty years it was housed in the People's House. In the mid-1970s, a new cube-shaped building was constructed for the museum. The facade is divided into squares by metal frames and is clad in aluminum, while the ground floor and main entrance are decorated with gray marble. The windows are made of special glass that ensures even diffusion of sunlight.

The museum's original collection consisted of more than a hundred items nationalized in 1918 from private collections of Prince Romanov and other collectors. It included graphics and paintings by Russian and European masters, as well as porcelain, decorative furniture, and sculptures.

The collection was supplemented with exhibits from the local history museum of Turkestan and museums in Moscow and Leningrad. By the 1920s, the museum had more than a hundred works from the 18th and 19th centuries created by artists such as Tropinin, Borovikovsky, Yaroshenko, and Repin. Thanks to private collections, the exhibition increased by more than two hundred works by Central Asian painters such as Karazin, Sommer, and Kazakov, who worked during the imperial era.

In the second half of the 1930s, the collection was significantly enriched by works of Uzbek artists.

The museum also features works by European masters from Spain, Italy, England, France, Germany, and other countries. Works by Italian artists from the 16th century include pieces by Vecchi, Domenichino, and Salvi, while among the masters of the 17th and 18th centuries are Canaletto, Panini, Scedone, and Morieski.