When Finlay moved to London in 1922, she lived in a studio flat in Hampstead until the outbreak of the war. During this period, she painted several portraits, mostly of children and young families. The Young Card Players, in which Finlay depicts five boys in a tender image of childhood concentration, is an early, ambitious and important example of this strand within her oeuvre. The soft light, delicate palette and subtle technique are all typical of her work. The significance of this painting is reflected in the fact that she submitted it for inclusion in three group exhibitions (at the Royal Scottish Academy, the Society of Women Artists, and the Royal Academy) between 1938 and 1942.