The National Art Museum of Ukraine (Ukrainian: Національний художній музей України [nɐts⁽ʲ⁾ioˈnɑlʲnɪj xʊˈdɔʒn⁽ʲ⁾ij mʊˈzɛj ʊkrɐˈjinɪ], romanized: Natsionalnyi khudozhnii muzei Ukrainy, stylized NAMU) is a museum dedicated to Ukrainian art in Kyiv, Ukraine.
History
The National Art Museum of Ukraine, which was the first museum in Kyiv to be freely open to the public, was founded at the end of the 19th century by the efforts of Ukrainian intellectuals. Museum building was constructed under the project of Moscow architect Petro Boitsov in neo-classic style. This project was updated and implemented by Polish architect Władysław Horodecki. Sculpture decoration of the frontispiece is performed by Elio Salia. The first exhibition on the occasion of the ХІ All-Russian Archaeology Conference took place in incompleted building of Kyiv City Museum of Antiquity and Art in August 1899. Official opening and consecration of the institution called Sovereign Emperor Nikolay Aleksandrovich (Nicholas II) Kyiv Art-Industrial and Scientific Museum was held on December 30, 1904. In 1919, after the nationalization, museum was called the First State, from 1924 – Taras Shevchenko All-Ukrainian Historical Museum, from 1936 – the State Ukrainian Museum, from 1939 – The State Museum of Ukrainian Art. During the Germany occupation of Kyiv in 1942, the museum was integrated with the Russian art collection under the common name the State Museum of East European Art. In 1944, the previous museum status was renewed. Changes of the museum names reflected the complicated life processes in the country and certain stages of Ukrainian museum work restoration. For example, the name changing shows the changes of museum collection's profile and separation of certain parts of this collection for establishment of other Kyiv museums. Following Ukrainian independence in 1991, the institution was renamed as the National Art Museum of Ukraine in 1994. During the Russo-Ukrainian war, the museum lost all its windows and sustained critical damage to its skylights and plaster walls following a Russian air attack on May 24, 2026.
Main building architecture
It is located in a building that was constructed in 1898 by architect Władysław Horodecki for the Kyiv City Museum. It was in fact a remake of the talented Moscow architect Petr Boitsov who failed to receive a government license. The building was originally designed as a museum for the local society of patrons of arts and antique lovers. The facade of the building conveys a neoclassical architecture form – precise reproduction of a six-column porch of Doric order with entablature, triglyphs, metopes and frieze decoration depicting the Triumph of Arts. The architectural composition featuring figures of gryphons and large concrete lions at the top of the stairs were created by an Italian sculptor, Emilio Sala. On the construction of the building was expended 249,000 rubles with only 100,000 paid by the imperial government. Another 108,000 rubles were paid by the Tereshchenko family who also created the Museum of Western and Oriental Art in Kyiv. At first, at the first floor was located exhibition of the Russian archeologist Vikentiy Khvoyka who moved to Kyiv from the Kingdom of Bohemia. The museum officially opened just before Christmas on December 23, 1904, as the Kyiv Industrial Arts and Science museum of Emperor Nicholas II. Its first director was Mykola Biliashivsky.
Collections
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