In the spring of 2004, I first met the Reeds through a mutual friend. Ambassador Reed, or JVR as he liked to call himself and how he signed his name, contacted me to help him sell a few things, mostly Chinese Export and European porcelain. I was happy to help. In his perfectly organized basement I got goosebumps when I chanced upon a fantastic pair of porphyry cassolettes. They sold very well at auction. Upon receiving the check, Ambassador Reed called and exclaimed, “This is wonderful. I’m going to London and now I can do some shopping!” Ever the consummate collector!
Over the years, as the Reeds contemplated moving to a new home, they often called on me to do “a little spring cleaning” and I eagerly returned in search of more treasure. There were Japanese mementos, beautiful works on paper, pieces of English furniture, weathervanes… Their taste was impeccably chic, clearly formed very early on in life. They were always recognized for their eccentric and wonderful style and collecting came naturally to them both. Ambassador Reed grew up at Denbigh Farm in Greenwich, Connecticut, son of Joseph Verner Reed, Sr. and Permelia Pryor. His family traveled extensively in Europe during his youth, and this exposure honed his eye.
Marie Byers, known as Mimi, grew up in Sewickley, Pennsylvania and Grasse, France, daughter of J. Frederick Byers and Jeanine Schley Byers. Mimi and Ambassador Reed met in the sandbox at the Jupiter Island Club in Hobe Sound, Florida, where his family started the Club and her family stayed as guests. Ambassador Reed’s family donated miles of beach there to create a national wildlife reserve.
Following his years at Deerfield Academy, Ambassador Reed attended Yale where he earned a bachelor’s degree and married Mimi, his childhood sweetheart. After Yale, Ambassador Reed became the chief of staff to David Rockefeller at Chase Manhattan Bank. While working at Chase, he was given the task of bringing the deposed shah of Iran to the United States.
He would later become Ambassador to Morocco under President Ronald Reagan. He then worked at the United Nations as U.S. Representative to the Economic and Social Council. He later became chief of protocol under President George H. W. Bush, and arranged the summit meeting between President Bush and Mikhail S. Gorbachev. JVR loved being chief of protocol. As he said to People Magazine in 1990, “Protocol is what keeps the architecture of international diplomacy in place.” He would carefully greet diplomats and foreign heads of state with warm, individualized welcomes, replete with the flourish of flags and trumpets. He created what was then the official U.S. framework for hosting visiting governments.
Ambassador Reed had that rare quality of making the person he was speaking to feel truly valued, as if they were the most important thing to him in the world. He was always thoughtful, authentic and respectful. His focus extended to all things around him. His taste was reflected in his personal style, and in his interior design. Of the three homes that I knew Ambassador Reed lived in, each was incredibly well-decorated, mostly by him and Mimi.
The last object Ambassador Reed purchased before his death was a pair of early 20th Century Japanese bronzes, while visiting his best friend, David Rockefeller in Maine in the summer of 2016. We are offering those bronzes in our upcoming April sale. The Reeds never stopped collecting, and they spent a life hunting and assembling a very refined and well-curated array of objects. Their vision was true and sincere, and always elegant.
They just don’t make them like JVR and his beloved, Mimi, anymore.
–Alastair Colin Stair
In our April 22nd and 23rd Fine Auction of English, Continental & American Fine Art, Furniture and Decorations, we will be offering Property from the Collection of Ambassador and Mrs. Joseph Verner Reed, Jr., including 18th Century English furniture, Anglo-Indian botanicals, European paintings, French and Continental porcelain and glass.
View Property from Ambassador and Mrs. Joseph Verner Reed, Jr. in the catalogue >