| Brown was born in Calais and studied art in Antwerp under Egide Charles Gustave Wappers. In 1843 he unsuccessfully submitted work to the Westminster Cartoon Competition, for compositions to decorate the new Palace of Westminster. His early works were still admired by the young Dante Gabriel Rossetti, who asked him to become his tutor. Through Rossetti, Brown came into contact with the artists who went on to form the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood (PRB). He was never actually a member of the brotherhood despite his involvment. He remained close to Rossetti, with whom he also joined William Morris's design company, Morris, Marshall, Faulkner & Co., in 1861. He was also a friend of the landscape artist Henry Mark Anthony. Brown was also the main organizer of the Hogarth Club, a short lived replacement for the PRB which existed between 1858 and 1861. |
