The first museum of fine arts was opened in Saransk in 1960. In 1976 the whole exposition was transported to a new building, and in 1995 the museum was given the name of the famous Mordovin sculptor of the last century Stepan Erzia.
The collections of the Museum of Fine Arts store more than 15 thousand exhibits. Among them are the world's largest collection of works by Erzia himself as well as a collection of paintings by famous artists of Mordovia - Fedot Sychkov and Ivan Makarov. In addition, one can see canvases, graphic works, sculptures and others, including modern Mordovian authors.