Over 600 portraits are catalogued in detail. Each is illustrated in black and white in chronological sequence indicating the full range of Ramsay's art. There is an introductory essay and biographical summary, list of portraits, statistical surveys of his production and prices and indices of engravers and of sales.

This is the first complete catalogue of oil paintings by Allan Ramsay (1713-84), whose career spanned the period in which British art established a national identity. Ramsay was a well-educated Scotsman familiar with contemporary Italian and French portraiture, and his mature portraits, with their delicate coloring and subtle characterization, provide a most elegant episode in the history of British art. More than six hundred portraits are catalogued in detail. Each is illustrated in black and white in a chronological sequence indicating, with the forty-eight color plates and selected relevant drawings, the full range of Ramsay's art. There is an introductory essay and biographical summary, a chronological list of portraits, statistical surveys of Ramsay's production and prices, and indexes of engravers and of sales.