Founded in 1758 by Count I. I. Shuvalov, the museum contains a unique collection of works of Western European and Russian art. Starting from the second half of the 18th century, it served to educate students of the Academy of Arts, many of whom later became prominent representatives of Russian art of the 18th – 20th centuries.
The Academy of Arts collected works of painting and graphics by Western European masters, as well as casts of famous samples of ancient and Western European sculpture, which served as models for drawing in the "plaster heads" and "plaster figures" classes.
Museum website.