In 1928 a fund of the best artworks of students, post-graduates and trainees was established on initiative of Professor Aleksandre Duduchava, the Rector of the Tbilisi State Academy of Arts. The collections of the fund were enriched with paintings of professors and teachers of the
Georgian Art Academy (as it was named at that time), as well as with artworks from the collections owned by them.
In the beginning of 1990s the museum was founded on the basis of the fund. It was located on the first floor of the historical building of the Art Academy, in the halls decorated in the late Iranian art style (and known to the society as “the Mirror Halls”).
At present the museum fund preserves about 3000 works of visual and applied arts by artists of various fields, including such significant works by Gigo Gabashvili as “Khevsur Feast”, “Khevsur on Guard”, “Goats in a Pasture”, “Self Portrait”, “Three Generals’” and “Samarkand Bazaar” (these artworks are temporarily kept in TBC Bank Head Office building); Elene Akhvlediani’s “Telavi Area”; Aleksandre Tsimakuridze’s “The Botanic Garden”; Mose Toidze’s “Queen Mariam”, “The Old Woman” and “In the Artist’s Studio”; Kiril Zdanevich’s “Still Life”; Tamar Balanchivadze’s “A Man with a White Turban”, etc.
The museum repository includes the course and degree works of students from 20s to the 50s of XX century, later the recognized artists: Korneli Sanadze, Eduard Ambokadze, Lev Baiakhchiev, Koki Makharadze, Gogi Totibadze, Levan Tsutskiridze, Reno Turkia, Boris Tiratsov, Tamaz Jincharadze, Dimitri Khakhutashvili and others.
Since the foundation of the Academy of Arts, one of the most important directions has become various art fields (pottery, china, glass, metal sculpture, minting, etc.). Over time the Museum fund have been enriched with perfect works in clay, china, glass, wood and metal (the authors – Zurab Maisuradze, Aleksandre Pitskhelauri, Revaz Iashvili, Alde Kakabadze, Nana Botkoveli, Otar Mukhiguli, and others).
Since 2009 the Museum collections rehabilitation program has started to operate within the framework of the project of restoration of the historical building of the Tbilisi State Academy of Arts. The great exhibition hall has been fully renovated and equipped; the first stage of inventory of the collection has been completed – the paintings were fully processed and preserved (the first inventory, photo fixation, registration cards, completely new inventory book – electronic and printed version);
The most important direction of this program is passportization of the Museum collections and creation of electronic and printed versions of an illustrated catalogue. The first volume of the catalogue “The Old Masters” is ready for publishing.
Since 2009 exhibitions of the works preserved in the fund has been carried out regularly in the Tbilisi State Academy of Arts as well as in exhibition halls of Tbilisi (TBC Bank, the National Gallery) and other towns of Georgia (Batumi, Borjomi, Khashuri).