Founded in 1974 as a branch of the National Gallery of Armenia in Yerevan, this small museum holds several thousand works, with a permanent display rotating through the highlights. The strength is 20th-century Armenian painting — Martiros Saryan landscapes, work by Gevorg Bashinjaghian, and a number of pieces by lesser-known Lori-region artists who would be hard to see anywhere else.
The building itself is a modest Soviet-era pavilion and the lighting is uneven, but the staff are friendly and admission is a token amount. An hour is enough to see everything, and it pairs naturally with a coffee on Hayk Square afterwards.