James Maubert (Ireland 1666-1746 London)

The sitters were the daughters of William Sancroft of Fressingfield Hall, Suffolk, and his wife, Catherine, daughter of Sir John Cotton of Lenwade. William's great uncle, William Sancroft (1617-1693) was the Dean of St Paul's who assisted significantly with the rebuilding of the Cathedral after the Great Fire of London and later became Archbishop ofCanterbury. The two daughters were substantial heiresses, having inherited from their father the Suffolk manors of Fressingfield, Ufford, Chepenhall and Metfield. The eldest daughter Elizabeth married John Wogan, who came from a Pembrokeshire family and owned Gawdy Hall in Norfolk. On the death of Elizabeth and her husband, the Suffolk estates were sold and Gawdy Hall passed to the Reverend Gervas Holmes, Vicar of Fressingfield, who had married their daughter, Sarah.
This double portrait is a fine example of the artist's work and can be compared with his portrait of the Bathurst family, c.1714 (sold Sotheby's, London, 23 June 1971, lot 90). Vertue noted that Maubert was 'a good Ingenious civil man ... he not only paints from the Life but is very skillful in painting of fruits & flowers. his draperys are well dispos'd & natural' (G. Vertue, 'Note Books', III, Walpole Society, XXII, 1933-1934, p. 28).