Marcus was trained by his father and began to exhibit at the Royal Academy, before he was eighteen.

A few years later he illustrated, with much success, books by Charles Dickens, Anthony Trollope, and other writers who were friends of his family.

In his earlier pictures, he dealt much with historical incidents, but in his later work, he occupied himself chiefly with a particular type of dainty sentiment, treated with much charm, refinement and executive skill.

Stone and fellow painter Luke Fildes both lived in Melbury Road, Holland Park, in houses designed by Richard Norman Shaw.

[2] In 1871, at Marylebone, Stone married Laura Mary H Broun, the daughter of the New Zealand merchant William Brown.