Marcus Clayton Stone [commonly known as Marcus Stone] was born in Marylebone, Middlesex [now London], England on 4 July 1840 and was the son of the painter Frank Stone (1800-1859), with whom he trained as an artist. Stone worked primarily as a genre and historical painter, and as an illustrator. He first exhibited at the Royal Academy in London in 1858 and continued to do so every year until 1920. He also exhibited at Agnew's, the Fine Art Society and Arthur Tooth & Sons in London; Manchester Academy of Fine Arts; Walker Art Gallery in Liverpool; Royal Birmingham Society of Artists; and at Glasgow Institute of the Fine Arts. Two of Stone's most popular paintings were "Claudio, Deceived by Don John, Accuses Hero . . . 'Much Ado About Nothing'" (exhibited at the RA in 1861) which was awarded the medal of the Society for the Promotion of the Fine Arts for the best historical painting of the year in 1861, and "On the Road from Waterloo to Paris" (exhibited at the RA in 1863) which depicted Napoleon seeking refuge in a cottage as he fled from his defeat at the Battle of Waterloo.
Stone was elected an Associate of the Royal Academy (ARA) in 1876 and a full Academician (RA) in 1886.
Much of his income as an artist was derived from selling the copyrights for engravings of his paintings. He illustrated books by many of the leading writers of the day including Charles Dickens and Anthony Trollope.
Stone's address was given as Russell House, Tavistock Square, London in 1858 and 1870; 1 Langham Chambers, London in 1871 and 1904; and 8 Melbury Road, Kensington, London, designed for him by the architect Richard Norman Shaw in 1905 and where he died on 24 March 1921.
Text source: Art History Research net (AHR net)
Text source: Art History Research net (AHR net)
