Feb 1, 2026
For many long-time residents of Medfield, Byron Reed was a familiar roadside sight around town, seated at his easel, painting a local house or landscape while smoking his trademark pipe.
And for newer residents, today they can gain an appreciation for Byron’s work through his rendition of the town seal, or the many paintings displayed in town buildings, including the Medfield Public Library, Town House and Medfield High School.
The artist in training
Born in Belmont in 1916, Byron graduated from Belmont High School and went on to study at the Massachusetts College of Art, where he majored in drawing and painting. It was there that he met his wife, Claire (Wells).
After college graduation, Byron traveled throughout the South, receiving commissions from art patrons to paint their gardens and homes.
Byron and Claire wed in 1940 and settled in Boston, but their lives were soon disrupted by World War II. Byron enlisted in the Marines shortly after the attack on Pearl Harbor.
Following the war, the couple lived in Bass River (South Yarmouth), where they conducted a summer art school for six years.
In 1958, the Reeds moved to Medfield, where they raised their two children, Stephen and Sharon, became active in the community, and developed a deep appreciation for the town’s history and natural beauty.
“His love of the town and the area is reflected in the fact that my dad nearly always painted outdoors, in all sorts of weather, trying to catch the beautiful changes in seasonal light,” said daughter Sharon Reed-Eramian.
Even during winter weather, Byron was known to continue painting regardless of the cold. He once told a newspaper reporter that moving around and wearing thermal underwear helped.
For a time, painting had to take a back seat to Byron’s day job as a draftsman with the engineering firm Stone & Webster, where he worked for many years. He ultimately returned to teaching art in 1963 with the opening of Xaverian Brothers High School, where he also taught mechanical drawing. After many years teaching art at Medfield High School, Claire joined him as an art teacher at Xaverian.
“They always had each other’s backs,” Sharon recalled.
An enviable career
As reported by Ted Ashby in the Sept. 11, 1962, issue of The Boston Globe, and by Sally Adams in The Patriot Ledger a year later, Byron had developed an impressive résumé as a watercolor artist across the East Coast. He sold commissioned house paintings to hundreds of patrons — both famous and not-so-famous—including legendary golfer Bobby Jones, John D. Rockefeller, actress and singer Gertrude Lawrence, and financier Tom Lawson. He also painted a portrait of the British Embassy in Washington, D.C. – a piece purchased by Lord Halifax.
The Globe article also noted that, while serving as a Marine corporal, Byron painted a portrait of General Dwight D. Eisenhower after he received his five-star rank — and before he became president of the United States.
In addition to his early training at Massachusetts College of Art, Byron also studied at the Pratt Institute in Brooklyn and the Museum School in Boston. In 1980, he was accepted as a member of the Copley Society of Boston.
“This, to him, was such a gratifying affirmation of the enduring quality of his work,” Sharon said. “And for the town of Medfield, where he did so much of his painting, this distinction was simply further acknowledgment of a gift long recognized.”
The Reeds owned their historic Medfield home at 8 Curve St. until Claire’s passing on June 19, 2007, at the age of 91. Byron passed away on March 18, 2003, at age 87.
The former Reed homestead is a distinctive red Cape now nearing 200 years old. It was formerly owned by Edwin S. Mitchell, son of the infamous hat factory owner E.V. Mitchell. The property once included a shed in the backyard that Byron used as his artist studio. According to Claire, Irish hat factory workers once used the building as sleeping quarters and a gathering place. (It was later demolished by a subsequent owner.)
And while the historic house itself has stood the test of time, Byron and Claire’s legacy lives on through their former students, and through the hundreds of works of art that grace the walls of homes and buildings throughout the region, plus town materials still in use, and artifacts in the Society collection.
Courtesy photos – Sharon Reed-Eramian
Drawing on Community Connections
By David Temple
The story about Byron Reed in this issue of The Portal was based, in part, on a newspaper column by Sally Adams that appeared in the July 2, 1963 issue of the highly regarded Quincy Patriot Ledger, a daily newspaper that had a circulation of 75,000.
In the 1960s and 70s, the Patriot Ledger expanded its South Shore orientation to provide local news in its West Edition for Medfield…plus Dedham, Needham, Wellesley, Dover, Westwood, Norwood, Foxboro, Sharon, Walpole, and Stoughton.
For about 10 years Sally (1918-2013) was the Patriot Ledger’s Medfield correspondent; she wrote news stories about the schools, selectmen, and the like, as well as features about local issues and personalities. Her writings also appeared in magazines and other publications.
Sally also wrote poetry, with a touch of humor and irony. Here are two examples.
