Reed's youthful ambition was to become a landscape painter but he found the pre-war mood inescapable and was quoted 'I realised there was a limit to the idea of doing pretty pictures.' His recognition of the ideological and spiritual crisis facing humanity in the 1930s resulted in paintings such as Armageddon and Visitation - works now held in public collections.

Reed mentioned that he wanted to introduce elements of religious painting into his work reflecting death and destruction being committed in the name of Christianity.

He sought to portray "the world we are making" as well as "something spiritual" in his work. His use of religious imagery and the issues they raised resulted in challenging works, somewhat ahead of their time.