David Brown was born in 1951 in Johannesburg and studied at the Michaelis School of Fine Art between 1970 and 1973. After working as a photographer, he began to make sculpture in 1976, having spent some time in the studio of Cecil Skotnes. Since then he has held eight major solo exhibitions of sculpture, six of these at the Goodman Gallery in Johannesburg and has participated in numerous group exhibitions in both South Africa and Europe. He has won many awards including the 1985 Johannesburg Cetenary Sculpture competition, the HG Steyn Award for excellence in the arts, and the AA Mutual Life Vita Art Now Award for the year 1989.

David Brow has executed several commissioned works for public and private spaces in South Africa, and for private collections in the United States and Europe. His work has been described in a number of publications, including Elizabeth Rankin's Images of Wood, and Images of Metal and is included in most of the major collections in South Africa including the South African National Gallery, The Johannesburg Art Gallery, the Pretoria Art Gallery, the Durban Art Gallery, University and Corporate Collections.