Two paintings of women playing stringed instruments, both by Charles Fairfax Murray (1849-1919). 1875. Oil on panel, as a pair of rondels. 9 1/4 x 9 1/4 inches (23.5 x 23.5 cm). Left: The Guitar Payer. Right: The Mandolin Player. Collections of Sheffield Museums, accession no. VIS.19. Images courtesy of Sheffield Galleries and Museums Trust, via Art UK, reproduced for purposes of non-commercial academic research. [Click on the images to enlarge them.]
In addition to producing independent works of art and copying Old Masters, Murray added to his income by producing painted panels for decorative furniture for firms like Collinson and Lock. From at least 1874 to 1878 he worked for this firm and more than sixty compositions by him are recorded. In one year alone he is known to have painted twenty-nine pieces. Notable examples include the rosewood Lucretia Cabinet of 1873, designed by E.W. Godwin, with the painted central panel of Lucretia by Murray. This was shown at the Collinson & Lock stand at the Exposition Universelle in Paris in 1878 and is now at the Detroit Institute of Fine Arts [object no. 1985.1]. Other examples include the painted doors of standing classical figures for a cabinet designed by Thomas Edward Collcutt that are now in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York [object no. 22.177.4].
The small size and decorative qualities of The Guitar Player and The Mandolin Player suggest they may have been designed for decorative furniture, an area that Murray obviously excelled in. Their date (1875) places them right within the period when Murray was working for Collinson & Lock. The Guitar Player shows a young woman in a blue dress, with an orange-yellow overmantel matching her hair, playing a guitar; The Mandolin Player features another attractive young woman, this time in a brilliant green dress, with a more brownish-coloured mantel matching her slightly fairer hair, playing a mandolin. In each case the background is black with dense, patterned with green foliage, making the two a perfect matching pair.
Related Material
Bibliography
Elliott, David B. Charles Fairfax Murray. The Unknown Pre-Raphaelite. Lewes, Sussex: The Book Guild Ltd., 2000. 25.
The Guitar Player. Art UK. Web. 19 February 2026.
The Mandolin Player. Art UK. Web. 19 February 2026.
Created 19 February 2026