The guidebook, edited by Matthew Gale, features a foreword by Tate director Nicholas Serota and an essay on the history of the Tate ("FROM SUGAR CUBE TO WHITE CUBE") by Frances Morris. Previous editions profiled 100 modern and contemporary artists, though this edition has been expanded to 300.
Each artist profile is illustrated by a work from the Tate's permanent collection, including Chris Ofili's The Upper Room (previously installed at the Victoria Miro Gallery, and purchased despite Ofili being a Tate trustee), Pablo Picasso's La Danse (described by John Richardson as "one of Picasso's most profound and mysterious paintings"), and Apichatpong Weerasethakul's video installation Primitive.