Reed claimed to have moved over eighty times in her life, spending most of her years in Arizona and Southern California. Her longest stay in one place was in the Tombstone area, where she owned and operated the Old Adobe Gallery in the 1980s and early 90s. Located in an original 1880s adobe building, the gallery had no running water or electricity, but the ambiance provided the ideal setting for her work. The Old Adobe was only open on weekends. At this time Reed's popularity was at its peak and the gallery was frequently sold out by early Saturday afternoon. She provided free art lessons to local children on Sunday nights, which were held by candlelight while a mesquite fire roared in the beehive fireplace.
After her marriage to Cecil Creese, Reed converted to Catholicism and became deeply religious. She once stated in a letter she “never painted anything. I just held the brush and God did the work.” She also claimed her art was inspired partly as a result of the frustration she felt in being denied a ranching life. The pleasure experienced by those who enjoyed her work alleviated her frustration “by returning the gift of the Creator.”
During the 1980s Reed made eleven trips to Israel, which she always referred to as "The Holy Land." She was deported by the Israeli government for encouraging peaceful protests by the Palestinians during her last trip in 1988.
Reed died the Friday after Thanksgiving in 1996, while raking leaves at the old Campbell Ranch in Vallecito. A true Western romantic until the end, her death certificate provides a fitting summary: “Occupation: Artist, Kind of business: Western Paintings, Years in occupation: 65, Final Residence: 33925 Great Overland Stage Route of 1849, Julian, California.”
Gary Fillmore
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Untitled
Harvey Day painting 20 x 24 Oil on Canvas Circa 1957
Leaving Before the Storm-Widow Smiths
24 x 30 Oil on Canvas Circa 1978
Winter in Navajoland
30 x 40 Oil on Canvas Circa 1982