 Brown found patrons in the north of England, including Plint, George Rae from Birkenhead, John Miller from Liverpool, and James Leathart from Newcastle.By the late 1850s he had lost patience with the poor reception he received at the Royal Academy and ceased to show his works there, rejecting an offer from Millais to support his becoming an associate member.He founded the Hogarth Club in 1858, with William Morris, Edward Burne-Jones, and his former pupil Rossetti.