В подборе иллюстративного материала акцент сделан на собрании живописи, скульптуры, графики и декоративно-прикладного искусства Европы и России XVI—XIX веков Научно-исследовательского музея при Российской академии художеств, а также Государственного Эрмитажа и Государственного Русского музея.
The book is dedicated to the private collections of the oldest Russian art museum, the Museum of The Russian Academy of Arts founded by I.I. Shuvalov, who was the first to give his collection to the Academy in 1758. Despite the state status of the Academy, the art pieces had come from private collections from the second half of the XVIIIth century until the beginning of the XXth century. The study considers the history of the masterpieces kept in the collections of G.V. Orlov, V.V. Musin-Pushkin-Bruce, N.A. Kushelev-Bezborodko, and other gifts from the collectors, diplomats, honorary members of The Imperial Academy of Arts. The gifts of the empresses and emperors, the presidents of The Academy of Arts and professors, too, present a very interesting subject of study. The images attached: paintings, sculptures, drawings, and decorative art of Europe and Russia in the XVI-XIXth centuries in the Research Museum of The Russian Academy of Arts as well as The State Hermitage Museum and The State Russian Museum.