The museum's exhibition occupies two halls. The first hall features collections of Russian and Western European secular art from the 18th to 20th centuries, while the second showcases Russian religious art, including icon painting from the 15th to 19th centuries. Part of the hall is dedicated to the exhibition "Folk Art of the Vologda Region," where painting enthusiasts will find much of interest.

The museum was founded in the 1930s and moved to a new building in the early 1990s.

It is remarkable how a small provincial museum managed to collect paintings by renowned masters of Russian art. Works by artists such as Bryullov, Rokotov, Petrovsky, Repin, and Kuznetsov are on display.

Petrovsky's painting, "The Appearance of the Angel to the Shepherds," a student of Bryullov, received a gold medal from the Academy of Arts in 1839.

The collection of foreign paintings includes works by Jean-Laurent Monnier and Johann Baptist Lampi. The exhibition is complemented by glassware, bronze, porcelain from the second half of the 18th century, and antique musical instruments.

The exhibition "Russian Orthodox Art from the 14th to 20th Centuries" includes icons, examples of embroidery, liturgical books, and much more. The museum's main pride is the oldest icon in the Vologda region, the 14th-century icon of Saint Nicholas. Such images are rare in Russia. Later icons also deserve attention, as they are painted in the traditions of the Northern Russian school. Among them are named icons, which is unusual for domestic icon painting, where the image was more important than the author.

In the 16th century, these strictures relaxed, and the Cherepovets Museum possesses an icon painted by the famous master T. Ivanov, who decorated the Armory Chamber in Moscow. This image is "John the Theologian in Silence." Among the front embroidery, the shroud "Laying in the Tomb of Jesus Christ" stands out.

In the book collection, it is worth noting the printed folio from the 16th century, "Oktoikh."

Folk art is represented by items and clothing from the peasant life of the Russian North. Among the unique exhibits are women's headgear adorned with pearls from Sheksna.

The museum has a small gallery of contemporary art, featuring works by local and Russian artists. Regular exhibitions are held here for students of the art school and the artistic-graphic department of the local university.

The museum has branches in the villages of Nelazskoye and Dmitrievo, which can be visited by anyone interested in Russian wooden architecture. On their territory, there are wooden churches from the 17th century in the open air.