The Museum of Modern Fine Arts in Ulyanovsk was founded in 1992. Its first collection was an exhibition from the art gallery dedicated to V. I. Lenin in visual arts.

Until 1996, this cultural institution was called "Art of the 20th Century."

The gallery and museum are located in an old mansion that belonged to Baron H. G. Shtepmel and was built in the early 20th century. After the revolution, various educational institutions were housed in this building, including a general education school. From the war years until 1969, it housed one of the branches of the V. I. Lenin Museum. In 1970, the mansion opened the art gallery "V. I. Lenin in Visual Arts."

The museum is named after the famous native of the Simbirsk province, Arkady Alexandrovich Plastov. The artist became famous in the 1930s for his paintings depicting scenes of village life and the residents of his native village, Prislonikha. A house-museum of Plastov currently operates in this village.

The permanent exhibition of the museum is located on the second floor, while temporary exhibitions are held on the first floor. The permanent exhibition is divided into five thematic sections: art of the early 20th century, Russian graphics of the early 20th century, Russian avant-garde, Pablo Picasso's ceramics, and Soviet art from the 1930s to the 1980s.

Among the masterpieces of the Plastov Museum in Ulyanovsk, in addition to works by the artist himself, are 16 ceramic pieces by Pablo Picasso and a significant collection of Russian avant-gardists such as Goncharova, Larionov, Konchalovsky, Serebryakova, and Rozanov. Visitors can also see landscapes by Korovin, Tarkhanov, Vinogradov, and Turzhansky.

Visitors are recommended to take guided tours to familiarize themselves with the permanent exhibition, as the museum's collection features many interesting but lesser-known artists. Guides are happy to share stories about the paintings, especially those by Ulyanovsk masters.