Attributed to James Maubert (Irish, 1666-1746) Portrait of the Holdsworth children of Devon, from left: Mary (b.1727), Sarah (b.1728), Arthur (b.1733) and Anne (b.1731), all full length, Mary holding a basket of flowers and Arthur seated on a velvet cushion oil on canvas 104 x 130cm, in a George III-style carved giltwood frame Provenance: Christie's London, 22 November 2006. Arthur Holdsworth was born to Arthur Holdsworth (Senior, born 1701) and his wife, the former Marcella Gibbs, and he later married Rebecca Taylor and they had six sons. Anne Holdsworth was born in 1731 at Dartmouth; she married Robert Newman. Later the family went into politics and there is a portrait of a descendant, Arthur Howe Holdsworth, by William Brockedon in the National Portrait Gallery. The family originally came from Yorkshire and a descendant, a vicar, moved to Devon in 1620. One of the sons of that vicar (also an Arthur, this appears to have been the only male name!) became Mayor of Dartmouth in 1672. They were very successful merchants and had properties in Portugal and Newfoundland. The family home was Widdicombe House, near Torcross (Listed Grade II*) originally built circa 1720-25 and enlarged in 1820. They also owned Brooke Hall, Dartmouth. There is a Holdsworth Room in Dartmouth Museum, Devon. We are grateful to Hugh Belsey for his assistance with the catalogue entry. Condition report: Oil on canvas which has been lined. There are some minor undulations to the canvas at the upper left corner but overall the picture has good tension. The paint layer is in a good, stable condition overall. Small, localised areas of overpaint are well matched to the original in colour and gloss. The varnish layer is yellowed and sightly dull. There are scuffs, scratches and abrasion to the varnish layer, notably around the edges. Sitting on the varnish is a layer of surface dirt including extensive insect droppings which could be removed through surface cleaning.