The Fine Art Fund was established in 1952, on the basis of the Soviet model, as the centralized organisation of the visual artists. In 1968 it was fused with the Literary Fund and the Music Fund, and the Art Fund of the People’s Republic of Hungary came into being as the central employer of all Hungarian artists (artists had to be employed in order to avoid being labelled “social parasites,” since it was a crime not to have a workplace). The mission of the Art Fund was to serve as an advocate for artists provide social benefits and pensions, and run collective studios and creative houses. Between 1972 and 1983, it oversaw the operations of companies as well (in publishing, art material production, and gallery life).

This atypical organization was socialized in 1983, and it payed taxes to the central budget. Until 1988, it also contributed to the budgets of some art institutions and to the yearly acquisition of works of art. In 1992, after the change of regimes, the Hungarian Art Foundation (MAK) took over the handling and maintenance of the properties and tasks. Since 2011, it has functioned as the Hungarian Art Nonprofit Ltd. (MANK), with a partly reinvented mission as a provider and property manager under the supervision of the Ministry of Human Resources (EMMI).