The Regional Museum of Fine and Applied Arts was created in 1959 in accordance with the order of the Council of Ministers of the USSR on the opening of art museums in the Trans-Urals. For half a century, more than 16 thousand exhibits from the largest museum depositories of the country, private collections, workshops of artists and collected in expeditions around the region have replenished its collection.

The most extensively in the halls and storerooms of the museum are the artists of Altai, folk art of the region and Siberia, collections of Russian art from the 18th century and Orthodox art from the 16th century have been formed, there are examples of Western European and ancient art. The collection of the museum was helped to form the Tretyakov Gallery, the Russian Museum, the Hermitage, the Historical Museum, the Scientific Research Museum of the USSR Academy of Arts, the Pavlovsk Palace Museum, as well as the local history museums of Altai. Among the unique exhibits in the museum are antique ceramics of the 6th-4th centuries. BC, a collection of icons of the 17th-20th centuries, including a large collection of Siberian icons.

The museum holds about 50 exhibitions per year (about 30 stationary and 20 mobile). In addition to preserving cultural values, the largest museum of the region is working on their restoration, scientific description, publication of albums and catalogs. The acquaintance of the townspeople and guests of Barnaul with the collected heritage takes place not only in traditional, but also in modern formats - a virtual branch, youth festivals, art therapy projects, family programs. Museum staff conduct master classes and games, theatrical excursions, musical and poetry evenings, and folk calendar holidays. For 10 years, the regional art museum has united about 60 cultural institutions around the international action "Museum Night".

After rebuilding and re-equipment, the area of the main building of the museum will grow almost 5 times, and it itself will become one of the most modern and attractive museums for visiting in Russia.