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As of 2019, the museum has in its collection 162 ink paintings spanning a wide range of time periods and created by 90 different artists. TMoFA has taken a vertical perspective of art history by constructing a historical narrative based on the pieces within its special collection. To this end, the museum invited the four following distinguished experts and scholars to do in-depth research on the museum’s ink painting collection by time period. Kai Sheng (Department Head, Department of Taiwan Languages and Communication, National United University), Lin-ting Chiu (Assistant Professor, Department of History, Soochow University), Sheng-hua Cheng (Assistant Professor, Department of Fine Arts, Tainan University of Technology), and Professor Ming-chu Lai (Permanent Council Member, Taiwan Art History Association).

Professor Kai Sheng compared the development trajectory of ink painting artists born in the 1920s and 1930s. He discussed the significance of each generation and the unique individual style of each artist. Professor Lin-ting Chiu used TMoFA’s ink painting collection to critique the development of art in Taiwan in the mid-twentieth century and tied it in with the artistic tastes of various time periods in Taiwanese art history. Professor Sheng-hua Cheng discussed the positioning of ink paintings in post-war Taiwan, thus anchoring the museum’s collection in culture. Professor Ming-chu Lai decided to study the 1960s as a watershed era for her research on the development of abstract ink paintings, concentrating on Shui-ching Tsai, a local ink painting artist in Taoyuan. Though these scholars chose to conduct their research using different methods, all four paid great attention to how the pieces in the collection reflect the spirit of the times and explored their historical significance in depth.