The National Art Museum is the most important art institution in Belarus, housing around 27,000 works spanning Belarusian art from the 14th century to the present alongside European Old Masters, Russian imperial-era paintings, and decorative arts. The collection of Belarusian icons is particularly strong and rarely seen outside the country.
The museum underwent significant renovation in the early 2000s and its galleries are well-organised and well-lit. The Belarusian section traces the country's distinct artistic traditions through centuries of shifting borders — the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, the Russian Empire — and into the Soviet period, when Belarusian painters developed a distinctive style under socialist realism that is now being reappraised.
Lenina 20, Minsk. Open Wednesday through Monday, 11am-7pm.