The Udmurt Republican Museum of Fine Arts (URMFA) is considered relatively young by museum standards. The idea of creating an Art Gallery was first proposed by the Izhevsk Revolutionary Military Council in June 1919. However, the first works of art, including 40 paintings, 5 graphic works, and 8 sculptures by Russian and Western European artists, were transferred from the State Museum Fund to the newly established Local History Museum only in 1927-1928. These events marked the beginning of the collection. Years later, an art department was created within the Local History Museum, laying the groundwork for the opening of a specialized museum, which began receiving visitors on October 29, 1980.

The museum is housed in a building constructed in 1953 according to the design of Izhevsk architect V. P. Orlov. Initially intended for the district party committee, it later housed the Palace of Pioneers. The building, adorned with semi-columns, featured a pediment with two muses holding a cartouche with the museum's name. Stained glass windows by artists G. A. Slyusarev and S. S. Medvedev were installed at the main entrance, and the interiors were reconfigured. The museum's opening was made possible by the initiative of artists and the creative intelligentsia, who recognized the lack of cultural institutions in the industrial city.

The foundation of the museum's collection consists of 565 items transferred from the Art Department of the Udmurt Republican Local History Museum. Currently, nearly 9,000 items are stored in the collections. The museum has an extensive collection of Udmurt painting, graphics, and decorative applied arts. Since 1982, a collection of late Russian icons has been forming thanks to donations from the USSR Ministry of Culture. The art of the peoples of Udmurtia, primarily the Udmurts, is represented by household items, costumes, and examples of weaving and embroidery collected during scientific expeditions.

The museum actively promotes visual arts through various forms: tours, lectures, exhibitions, creative meetings, concerts, performances, seminars, and celebrations. Methodologies for classes for children and people with disabilities have been developed. However, the museum does not limit itself to exhibition activities. It is also the largest collection of cultural values requiring the care of custodians and restorers. Highly qualified specialists work in the restoration workshop, capable of returning works to their original appearance. Thanks to their efforts, almost all exhibits of the permanent exhibition 'Russian Art of the Late 18th and Early 20th Century' have been restored.