Verner Reed

Verner Z. Reed was born in Denver, Colorado in 1923, the son of Verner Zevola Reed, Jr. and Gladys Quentell Reed. Mr. Reed attended Aiken Preparatory School in S.C., where he was a skilled horseman. He graduated from Milton Academy in 1941 and attended Harvard University before becoming a member of the Army Air Corps. During World War II he was stationed in China, Burma, and India. He had joined the Air Corps as a private, served in the CBI as an aircraft engineering officer, and was discharged in 1946 as First Lieutenant. Returning home from the war, Mr. Reed lived in Stowe, Vermont, where he became a furniture maker. When he had difficulty finding a good photographer to market his products, he picked up a camera and taught himself the art. This led him to Boston to pursue photography professionally. During the 1950s he worked on a freelance basis for Life magazine, photographing over 125 assignments in New England. His work was also published in Fortune, Paris Match, Time, and Vermont Li

He passed away Feb. 28, 2006 at his home. His work is owned by museums including the University of New England Art Gallery, the Portland Museum of Art, the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, and the George Eastman House in Rochester, NY. Historic New England possesses his photographic archive.