About the museum

     The Museum of Art  is  one of the  important  centers  of contemporary Georgian culture. The exhibits, kept in its foundations create the solid collection, which gives a vivid idea of the main trends of XX century Georgian fine arts.

    The museum is located in one of the historical buildings of Batumi, designed by the famous architect  Kakha Javakhishvili  in 1949. This monumental contstruction is characterized with its strict, refined architectonics and simplicity of decor. The facade is decorated with the relief frieze by the famous Georgian sculptor Tamar Abakelia (1951-52). The interior of the museum is an united large space. There is a ceremonial staircase in the center. It is illuminated by an ornamental stained-glass  ceiling. The exterior and interior decoration of the building is inspired by the  motifs of medieval Georgian architecture.   The Museum of Art was officially opened on December 19, 1998.

      In January 2023, a renewed exposition was opened in the Art Museum. The permanent exposition presents the works of Georgian and foreign artists of the XIX-XX centuries from the museum fund. The first floor is dedicated to the paintings of foreign masters: Richard Sommer, Boris Vogel, Gabriel Schachinger, Stefan Bakalowicz, Charles Leickert, A.L.Terni  and other masters, who worked mainly in classicism, salon-academic and realistic manner. The second floor presents whole pleiad of great artists of different generations who achieved worldwide fame of Georgian art: Niko Pirosmani, Gigo Gabashvili, Mose Toidze, David Kakabadze, Lado Gudiashvili, Elene Akhvlediani, Zurab Nizharadze, Dimitri Eristavi, Radish Tordia, Nikoloz Ignatov, Esma Oniani, Gia Bugadze, Rusudan Petviashvili and other masters.

     The new art gallery was added to the Art Museum on May 26, 2015. This building is a harmonious continuation of the historical building of the museum, in which its architectural-stylistic features are preserved. Since the opening of the gallery, a new stage of the museum life has begun – various interesting projects are systematically implemented here, which makes the museum work more modern, diverse and intensive.