A blue and gold macaw on a perch, with flower garlands

Pieter Casteels III departed Antwerp with his brother-in-law, the sporting painter Peter Tillemans, for England in 1708, and rapidly became a great favourite with aristocratic patrons. After a brief return to Antwerp in 1712, the year he became a member in the city's painters guild, Casteels settled permanently in England in 1717, where he gained fame for his decorative depictions of flowers and exotic birds. He more or less retired from painting in 1735, becoming a calico-manufacturer and residential artist, first at Merton Abbey near Tooting, Surrey, and later in Richmond.

We would like to thank Dr Fred G. Meijer for proposing the attribution after first-hand inspection.