A high T.sub.c superconductive electromagnet winding is advantageously employed as part of an MRI magnet structure having a pair of magnetically permeable poles opposingly disposed about the patient imaging volume. The magnetic circuit is otherwise completed by a magnetically permeable yoke structure having plural open apertures for easy access to the patient imaging volume. Still further advantage can be had by asymmetrically disposing a single superconductive electromagnet winding with respect to the patient image volume thereby eliminating the need for more than one cryostat. When high T.sub.c superconductive electromagnetic windings are utilized, a non-conductive composite cryostat may also be used to further reduce spurious eddy current fields. When an asymmetric single high T.sub.c superconductive electromagnet coil is utilized, an asymmetric electromagnet shim winding may also be employed so as to further increase the magnetic field homogeneity within what is now an asymmetrically located patient imaging volume within the air gap of the magnet structure.