At the beginning of the Turkish republic fine arts such as painting and sculpture were rarely practised in Turkey due to the Islamic tradition of avoiding idolatry.

During the restoration of the building in 1980, and in the following years, another important point on which considerable stress was laid is the construction of workshops of painting, sculpture and ceramics, which serve artists, both amateur and professional.

Today, the museum is a center of art where the most outstanding works of the artists who played important roles in the development of Turkish painting and sculpture are exhibited.

The protection of the works of fine arts, which is one of the most important responsibilities of the museum beside training, is done by employing a method particularly developed to ensure the most satisfactory results when dealing with the problems arising from temperature, humidity and sorting difficulties.

In addition, exhibitions of Turkish artworks selected from the permanent collection of the museum are organized in foreign countries, within the framework of international cultural agreements.