The Simferopol Art Museum is located in historical building, where the Central Museum of Tavrida was placed in 1922. A collection of his art Department was formed from pieces of art, nationalized in 20-ies of the palaces and estates of the southern Coast of Crimea. So the Museum became the owner of a valuable collection, which included works by Karl Briullov, Ivan Aivazovsky, Ivan Shishkin, Isaak Levitan, Valentine Serov, Western European paintings, porcelains and sculptures. In 1937, there was created the Simferopol picture gallery, renamed in Simferopol art Museum in 1966, on basis of the art Department of the Central Museum of Tavrida.

    During the evacuation in the beginning of the Great Patiotic War most of the items were lost. In the postwar years, the Museum was reconstructed on basis of works coming from the collection of the State Russian Museum, the State Tretyakov Gallery, State Hermitage Museum, the Museum of fine arts by A. S. Pushkin, the Directorate of art exhibitions and panoramas of the USSR, Aachen Museum named by Surmond-Ludwig, Dresden art gallery, etc. At present, the Museum collection includes more than 9 thousand exhibits. The main exposition is located in 8 halls: there is Russian, Western European art from the 15th century through the 21th century.

    There is held annually about 30 exhibitions of classical and contemporary art from Museum collections, private collections and artist studios during the year. The most significant among them there are the Biennale of chamber watercolor of the Crimea, Triennale of young artists, Biennale of Amateur artists