The Society for Art History in Finland was founded in 1973 and officially registered in 1974. It is Finland's only scholarly society in the field of art history. The Society is bilingual, with Finnish and Swedish as its official languages, and its stated purpose is to promote the field of art history in Finland. To carry out its purpose, the Society arranges meetings, lectures and seminars, and issues publications. The Society's published series Taidehistoriallisia tutkimuksia – Konsthistoriska studier (Studies in Art History) appears at varying intervals, on average once a year.

During the course of its history, the Society for Art History in Finland has been involved in numerous projects and areas of work related to its discipline, among others the planning and implementation of a bibliography of Finnish art literature, a statement on the route of the Turku-Helsinki motorway, and serving as a collaborative body between Finland's universities and museums. Since its founding, the Society's main purpose has been to promote and further the discipline of art history. Membership has grown from a small founding group to over three hundred. The board of the Society includes representatives of all universities in Finland where art history is taught as a major subject (the universities of Helsinki, Turku and Jyväskylä, and Åbo Akademi University in Turku) and the museums sector (at present, the Finnish National Gallery and the Turku Art Museum).