The Collection of Modern Polish Painting presently numbers almost 6,500 works; of these, only a small part is displayed in the permanent galleries. This part of the National Museum in Warsaw collection comprises paintings by Polish artists and by foreigners working within the historical boundaries of Poland executed over more than 400 years, from the early 16th to the early 20th centuries. This is one of the most comprehensive, and most valuable, of the Polish public collections of this sort. Its core is comprised in the collection of the former university School of Fine Arts, bringing together paintings by the professors and by their pupils. In addition to the purposefully pursued programme for purchasing works by great Polish painters, the collection in its present state has benefited greatly from the numerous gifts by private donors and from official bequests, including more than 100 fine paintings from the State Art Collections in 1938. The bombardments and pillaging ensuing over 1939 through 1945 led to the irretrievable loss of many fine Polish paintings. At the same time, however, the Museum became a sanctuary for many fine pieces belonging to private collectors and to other institutions evacuated from their usual locations in September 1939, including the collections of the Łazienki Palace, the Krasiński Ordynacja Museum, and the Royal Castle in Warsaw (after the latter was rebuilt, its holdings were returned to their home). After World War II, significant enlargements of the National Museum’s collection included incorporation of the representative collection of the disbanded Society for Encouragement of Fine Arts (featuring many masterpieces of 19th century Polish paintings) and of numerous collections of landowning families nationalised by the Polish state during the agricultural reform.

For many years now, some paintings from the National Museum in Warsaw warehouses have been on loan to institutions such as the Sejm (the Polish parliament), the Council of Ministers, and assorted public institutions; others grace the walls of Polish diplomatic posts around the world. Many more pieces are on long-term deposit at other Polish galleries, including the Royal Castle in Warsaw, Wilanów Palace, Łazienki Palace, the National Museum in Poznań, the Lublin Museum, the National Museum in Wrocław, and the District Museum in Toruń.