本書收錄畫作141件(套)，幾近把故宮館藏的明清肖像畫作掃地而盡。 全書以時間為序列，再按畫家把不同作品集中排列。 畫作的涉獵甚廣：以用途論，有為祭祀而畫，有為紀念而畫，亦有休閑之作；以筆觸論，既有水墨勾勒，也有傳色深描；以面貌神態論，或為正面，或為側面，都以寫真傳神為追求。 Although Chinese portraiture was at its zenith in the Tang dynasty (618-907), an indispensable link between the Tang and modern portraiture was forged by portraitists like Chen Hongshou, Chui Zizhong, and Zeng Jing of the late Ming dynasty, and Ren Yi of the late Qing dynasty. The identifiable "link" is preciously demonstrated in the album.