Lydia Newhall Breed

Lydia Newhall Breed passed away on December 28, 2019 at 94 years of age after a long illness.  Born and raised in Lynn, MA and a long-time resident of Swampscott, she was a well-known artist whose work encompassed printmaking, illustration, and sculpture.

Lydia graduated Massachusetts College of Art (MassArt) with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in 1947. She was a founding member of the Boston Printmakers with a small group of senior students and faculty at MassArt and the Boston Museum School in 1947.  Lydia Breed exhibited with The Boston Printmakers from 1948 to 1965, and as she established herself as a printmaker in Boston, Arthur Heintzelman collected her work for the Boston Public Library Print Collection.  Her prints are included in the permanent collection of the Boston Public Library Print Collection.

She began her art career as a teacher in the Boston school system.  A focus on early education led to a collaboration as an illustrator with Verna Hill Bayley, author of a popular children’s book, Martin and Judy.  She also traveled to Japan to study printmaking.

Her woodcuts have been collected by many and she was also active in the Marblehead Arts Association.  Later work centered on wood sculpture and she exhibited at the Museum of Science and at local galleries.

Lydia was a fifth-generation member of the Unitarian Universalist Church of Greater Lynn and contributed greatly to the church as an educator and as an artist.  Her work is prominent in the building and includes wood sculpture and prints.  She served on local as well as national committees for the Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA).  She spent many summers participating in UUA conferences on Star Island, one of the Isles of Shoals off the coast of Portsmouth, NH.

Known locally as an avid walker and forager in the woods and trails of Lynn and Swampscott, she volunteered with the Friends of Lynn Woods.

Her love of history included great pride in the Breed Family Association.  The Breed family settled in Lynn in 1630 and the Battle of Bunker Hill was fought on Breed's Hill, June 17, 1775. Later descendants remained in Lynn and the family name can be found on many sites throughout the area.  Lydia was a supporter of the Lynn Museum & Historical Society as well as the Friends of Lynn Woods.