Mann was a genre painter based in London. The majority of his works are gentle and domestic, often including children. The titles for his paintings frequently come from poems and subjects from literature. Joshua Hargrave Sams Mann (1826-1887) was the son of Mary E. and James Hargrave Mann. He was an artist, painter of figures and genre subjects including The Cauld Blast (1876, Royal Holloway), and Head of a girl, looking upwards (Watford Museum). Mann married Katharine Marion Williams, daughter of James Degnum Williams, on 21 February 1860 at St Mary, Putney. By the 1871 census they had three sons, James H., Horace and Frederick, and a daughter, Katherine. At the time of his death on 2 March 1886, J.H.S. Mann was living in the Parish of St Pancras, and probate of his estate of £2786.16.6 was granted on 15 April 1886 to his son Frederick, sole executor.