One of the most influential artists and teachers of his period, Fred Brown was one of the founding members with George Clausen, Sargent and Wilson Steer of the New English Art Club which held its first exhibition in 1886.
Born in Chelmsford, Essex he was the son of a painter and art teacher.  He studied first at the Royal College of Art and later in Paris under Bouguereau and Tom Fleury.
He exhibited at numerous principal London galleries including the Royal Academy where he showed his celebrated work 'Hard Times'.
He was Slade Professor from 1892 - 1918 and had an enormous influence on many of the most successful British painters of the early 20th Century.
His work is held in a number of public collections including the Victoria and Albert Museum.
He died in Richmond, Surrey in 1941 and had acquired an extensive collection of modern British paintings.