American painter. Brown was a leading member of the Chicago Imagist group. He created bold canvases and sculptural objects that explore America in the postwar era. His work often comments on current events and contemporary attitudes delivered with a strong dose of irony and a wry sense of humor. He celebrated the vernacular, mining popular culture for its truths and contradictions, and focused on a range of themes from urban isolation, alienation, and sexual intrigue to natural disasters, human tragedy, and weather patterns.