Chen Hongshou was born in Zhuji, near Shaoxing, in Zhejiang province. He was recognized for his painting talent from age four and studied with Lan Ying (1585-ca. 1664) from the age of ten. He grew up in an academic family, but his father died when he was young and his granduncle was a bad influence. He passed the provincial examination but failed the metropolitan exam twice. During his second trip to the capital, Beijing, he was summoned to the court but declined the position offered as he was disappointed with official life. Chen Hongshou lived an eccentric lifestyle and even briefly became a Buddhist monk after the fall of the Ming dynasty in 1644, but he soon reentered secular life again. Chen Hongshou made his living as a professional painter and an illustrator of playing cards and books.

Chen Hongshou's distinctive painting style is characterized by sharp angular lines and the bold use of color. These album leaves are small studies of birds and flowers with one simple scene of rock, bamboo, tree and bird. The last leaf of this set has a simple signature "Hongshou" and a seal reading the same. All the other leaves have a variety of Chen Hongshous personal seals. Typical of his painting, a branch of prunus appears exaggerated and stylized with its combination of sharp angular lines, shades of ink wash and blue dots of color. The garden rocks in two other leaves in this set appear to be painted in the same manner as this branch.