Theodore Butler's links to French Impressionism extended beyond the typical stylistic similarities so many American artists shared in the late nineteenth century. Indeed, Butler married Claude Monet's stepdaughter and spent a number of years in Giverny. In fact the Butler home acted as an important meeting place for the American artists who sought to paint at Giverny.

Butler's own work was impressionist in style, yet as he matured as an artist he was attracted to Post-Impressionism and even the work of the Nabis. In the Card Players, the artist's use of high-keyed palette and almost abstracted form makes the painting strikingly modern for its early date. The expressive brushwork and great sense of energy heightens its innovation and underscores Butler's willingness to take artistic risks.

Butler enjoyed success in France, where he exhibited with Société des Artistes Indépendants and at the Salon d’Automne where the Fauves made their sensational debut. He also participated in such important exhibitions in the States as the 1913 Armory Show when it traveled to Chicago, the Panama-Pacific International Exhibition in 1915, and the Society of Independent Artists in 1917.