Marmaduke Cradock

Horace Walpole wrote that "I have seen some pieces by his hand which he painted with a freedom and a fire that entitled them to more distinction".

[4]According to the RKD his work as a still life and bird painter was influenced by Melchior d'Hondecoeter, Peter Frans Casteels, and Jakob Bogdani.

He tended to paint domestic birds and common wild species, rather than the exotic varieties favoured by some other artists.

[6] He sometimes introduced elements of drama such as attacks by predatory animals into his bird paintings, a feature shared with the works of Francis Barlow.

[6] Buyers of his paintings often incorporated them into schemes of interior decoration, setting them into panelling above doors or fireplaces.