Volgograd Museum of fine arts named after I. I. Mashkov was opened in 1963 and today is one of the largest cultural centers of the region.

The first art gallery in the city was established in early 1918. But subsequent revolutionary events and Civil war for almost twenty years has left the city without a Museum. Only in 1938 in the Lutheran Church for Volga-Germans of the newly opened art gallery. Despite the relatively small collection (just over 300 works), the collection was unique and included works by Ilya Repin, Ivanov, I. Shishkin, Surikov, Mikhail Vrubel, Konstantin Yuon, engravings by European artists, decorative and applied art from China and Europe. During the great Patriotic war as a result of heavy bombardment, the Museum was destroyed, the fate of the works is still not known. There is evidence that the collection was burned during the evacuation, but documentary evidence of this version not found.

The idea of opening a Museum of various figures of culture and art were nominated more than once. And now, in June 1963 Volgograd regained Museum of art. It handed over two thousand exhibits of the largest collections of Russia, among which were the works of I. Kramskoy, F. Vasiliev, A. Benoit, K. Korovin, I. Aivazovsky. The Museum develops relationships with well-known repositories of art treasures of Russia, including the state Tretyakov gallery, the Hermitage. The exposition is supplemented by its own acquisitions of the Museum, proceeds from the Directorate of art Foundation, collection development of the Volgograd artists. A special pride of the visitors of the Volgograd Museum experience when meeting with a collection of works by native of I. I. Mashkov Volgograd. In October 2010 the Museum was named after I. Mashkov.

A great contribution to the extension of the exposition became a gift to the Museum in 1980, the collection of N. Arning-Zaitseva, which got her inheritance. With the collection in the Museum were of V. Serov, F. Malyavin, I. Shishkin, N. Roerich, V. Makovsky, S. Zhukovsky, only 38 pieces.

Today the Museum has more than 8.5 thousand works of painting, graphics, decorative arts, sculpture.