brown grew up in croydon in south london. his mother was a social worker; his father an architect, who abandoned the family when brown was 11. he attended newcastle polytechnic – where his classmates included matthew higgs – and later at chelsea college of arts. at anthony d’offay gallery in london. brown worked as an assistant in the back room alongside damien hirst before moving to new york in 1988 to continue his studies at the whitney museum of american art’s independent study program.