In The guitar player Philip Connard depicted his daughters Jane and Helen, and the family cat James. The woman seated on a couch playing the guitar is possibly the children’s nursemaid, Evelyn, while the standing woman at the back is Connard’s wife. The artist portrayed himself at work, reflected in the mirror at the back of the room.

The guitar player is more than just a celebration of family life. Connard painted it using a kind of tonal impressionism derived from Velasquez.