One of the oldest art museums in the North Caucasus was opened thanks to the famous Russian collector Fyodor Kovalenko. Being an inquisitive young man, Fyodor started working at the age of 15 and spent money on books, prints, paintings, and everything else that fascinated him in the endless world of art. He soon began organizing exhibitions at his home. Later, he founded an art museum, where he passed on his rich heritage.

Today, the art museum of Krasnodar still bears his name and boasts an extensive collection of artworks. Its collections contain more than 13,000 rare and valuable works, including paintings, drawings, sculptures, decorative and applied arts. Visitors can get acquainted with the representatives of all the Russian icon-painting schools: Moscow, Pskov, and Novgorod. There is even a more avant-garde art of the 1920-1930s. The most valuable are the collections of the Russian avant-garde, represented by 85 exhibits, and Japanese color woodcuts dating from the 18th-19th centuries. The ukiyo-e fine art was admired even by the emperors of the Edo period, the era of the highest flowering of Japanese culture. Today, the 190 magnificent ukiyo-e engravings adorn the halls of the modern Krasnodar museum. Other interesting collections are dedicated to northern inhabitants of the Netherlands of the middle of the 16th century, and to about 2500 different ex-libris (distinctive book signs that make it possible to identify the owners of old books) of the 18th-20th centuries. Not to mention the Russian collection of paintings donated by the academician and philosopher Leonid Ilyichev.

Every year, the museum's archives are replenished with new exhibits. Moreover, the cutting-edge technologies allow everyone to enjoy both classic artworks and the latest interactive book "Chronicle of Museum Life. Pages of History". Despite its age, the museum continues to keep up with the times, attracting more and more young art lovers and generous patrons of the arts.