Attributed to Enoch Seeman

three-quarter length, one wearing a blue dress with matching hat and holding a black mask, the other a white dress with red cuffs and a straw hat, holding a red carnation

Probably commissioned by Thomas Fermor, 2nd Lord Lempster and 1st Earl of Pomfret;
by descent

STRUCTURE The canvas has been lined. PAINT SURFACE The painting appears to be in reasonably good condition. There is some retouching to the vertical edges of the canvas and there is a vertical crack in the paint, approximately 10 inches long, in the lower centre of the canvas, to which there has been some retouching. There is some further minor cracking to the far left of the painting and there is an uneven, thick layer of old discoloured varnish overall. ULTRAVIOLET Examination under ultraviolet light reveals scattered retouching overall and confirms the condition mentioned above. FRAME Held in a British Baroque gilded frame.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

The sitters were the eldest daughters of Thomas Fermor (1698-1753) 2nd Lord Lempster, later Earl of Pomfret and his wife Henrietta Louise Jeffreys (1698-1761), granddaughter of both Judge Jeffreys and Philip, 7th Earl of Pembroke, who had three sons and six daughters. Following their father's death in 1753, both sisters inherited the family's possessions whilst their profligate brother the Hon. George Fermor (1722-1785) later 2nd Earl of Pomfret was left only the entailed estate.

The elder daughter, Lady Sophia (b. 1724), later married John Carteret, Earl Granville, as his second wife in the year of his premiership, 1745.  She was then known as a considerable beauty and was thirty years his junior.  She had in fact been expected to marry Lord Lincoln and the epigram on her marriage ran as follows:
  "Her beauty, like the Scripture Feast
    To which the invited never came, 
    Deprived of its intended guest, 
    Was given to the old and lame."

Both Sophia and Charlotte (b. 1725) accompanied their parents on a Grand Tour from 1737 until 1741. Their mother was Lady of the Bedchamber to Princess Amelia (see lot 11) and was unusually also an educated blue-stocking who kept a diary which recorded her many and varied social engagements. She recorded attending the Duchess of Norfolk's masquerade in 1741 (see Walpole, Letters, ed. Cunningham, 1782, p. 182). The age of the sitters in this portrait coincides with this masquerade which explains the young ladies' 'fancy dress' and suggests this was a portrait painted to commemorate that occasion.