The Krasnodar Regional Art Museum appeared in the city thanks to F.A. Kovalenko. He was neither an artist nor a rich man who could afford to buy any picture. However, he managed to build a collection of pieces of art all through his life, due to which one of the largest art museums in the Caucasus appeared in 1904. Even during the lifetime of its founder, the gallery moved to the house of engineer B. Shardanov, where it is located to this day. An art group was also opened here, which later became a separate educational institution.
During the Great Patriotic War all exhibits of the Art Museum were kept in the Urals. Since 1993 the Krasnodar Regional Art Museum bears the name of its founder. Today, the museum's funds on Krasnaya Street store the best works of Old Russian, national and Western European painting, as well as Japanese xylography and avant-garde. Visitors can also view a rather rich collection of drawings, engravings, watercolors and graphics.