Patricia Buckley Moss (May 20, 1933 – July 13, 2024) was an American artist, known especially for her paintings of rural

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...

, and for her support of children with learning disabilities.

Early life and education

Patricia Buckley was born on

Staten Island Staten Island ( ) is the southernmost of the boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Richmond County and situated at the southernmost point of New York (state), New York. The borough is separated from the ad ...

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

on May 20, 1933. Raised on Staten Island, she was the second of three children of a Sicilian-born mother and an Irish-American father. In her Catholic grade school, the nuns perceived Patricia as a poor student, a circumstance probably attributable to

dyslexia Dyslexia (), previously known as word blindness, is a learning disability that affects either reading or writing. Different people are affected to different degrees. Problems may include difficulties in spelling words, reading quickly, wri ...

. Nonetheless, one of her teachers determined that she, who was "Not Proficient in Anything", was artistically gifted. This helped to convince her mother to enroll her daughter in a specialized public school for girls, Washington Irving High School for the Fine Arts in

Manhattan Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...

. Then in 1951, Patricia received a scholarship to study art at Cooper Union College.

Personal life

Soon after graduating college in 1955, Buckley married Jack Moss. In 1964, his work as a chemical engineer found the couple and their five children (with a sixth on the way) relocating to

Waynesboro, Virginia Waynesboro (; formerly Flack) is an independent city (United States), independent city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Virginia. It is a principal city of the Staunton-Waynesboro micropolitan area, Staunton-Waynesboro Metropoli ...

. This relocation would become pivotal in Patricia Moss's art and subject matter. In 1979, she divorced Jack Moss, remarrying in 1982 to her business manager Malcolm Henderson, whom she divorced . The build-up of Moss Galleries resulted from the influence of Moss's marriage to Henderson. She had ten grandchildren. Patricia Buckley Moss died on July 13, 2024, at the age of 91, shortly after developing a brain tumor.

Art career

In 1964, Jack Moss's work took the family to

, in the

Shenandoah Valley The Shenandoah Valley () is a geographic valley and cultural region of western Virginia and the eastern panhandle of West Virginia in the United States. The Valley is bounded to the east by the Blue Ridge Mountains, to the west by the east ...

. Patricia Moss appreciated the rural scenery and began portraying it in her art. She was particularly drawn to the

Amish The Amish (, also or ; ; ), formally the Old Order Amish, are a group of traditionalist Anabaptism, Anabaptist Christianity, Christian Christian denomination, church fellowships with Swiss people, Swiss and Alsace, Alsatian origins. As they ...

and

Mennonite Mennonites are a group of Anabaptism, Anabaptist Christianity, Christian communities tracing their roots to the epoch of the Radical Reformation. The name ''Mennonites'' is derived from the cleric Menno Simons (1496–1561) of Friesland, part of ...

people who farmed in the countryside, and she portrayed their figures in iconic ways. In 1967 she had a one-person museum exhibition that promptly sold out, after which Moss started to market her work more seriously. Her work subsequently received acclaim. Referred to in 1988 as "The People's Artist," by journalist

Charles Kuralt Charles Bishop Kuralt (September 10, 1934 – July 4, 1997) was an American television, newspaper and radio journalist and author. He is most widely known for his long career with CBS, first for his "On the Road" segments on '' The CBS Evening ...

, Moss opened the P. Buckley Moss Museum in Waynesboro the following year. The facility has grown to attract roughly 45,000 visitors annually. Kuralt's moniker is often used in the museum's marketing. Today, artwork that Moss signed as ''P. Buckley Moss'' is represented in hundreds of galleries.

Civic activities

Buckley Moss became a strong advocate for

special education Special education (also known as special-needs education, aided education, alternative provision, exceptional student education, special ed., SDC, and SPED) is the practice of educating students in a way that accommodates their individual di ...

groups. Overcoming her own challenges with dyslexia, she became a role model for the learning-impaired and shared her message with special education classes throughout the United States. Events and donations of Moss's original works and prints to related children's charities have raised millions of dollars for their causes. The P. Buckley Moss Society was established by a few dedicated collectors in 1987, with a mission to assist and join the artist in her charitable endeavors. The Society has grown to include 23 chapters and approximately 8,000 members. In 1995, Moss founded the P. Buckley Moss Foundation for Children's Education to aid children with learning disabilities. In addition to her work with special education, P. Buckley Moss actively raised money and awareness for

breast cancer Breast cancer is a cancer that develops from breast tissue. Signs of breast cancer may include a Breast lump, lump in the breast, a change in breast shape, dimpling of the skin, Milk-rejection sign, milk rejection, fluid coming from the nipp ...

. A breast cancer survivor herself, Moss donated art and hand-painted quilts to benefit organizations that offered support to breast cancer patients. In 2013 at

Virginia Tech The Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, commonly referred to as Virginia Tech (VT), is a Public university, public Land-grant college, land-grant research university with its main campus in Blacksburg, Virginia, United States ...

, the Moss Arts Center was named in appreciation for her pledged $10 million donation. In 2025, her family and the university shifted her name to the front lawn activity space.

References

External links

*
"Horsing around: P. Buckley Moss and not-folk art"
''

The Hook The Hook, or the Hookman, is an urban legend about a killer with a pirate-like hook for a hand attacking a couple in a parked car. In many versions of the story, the killer is typically portrayed as a faceless, silhouetted old man wearing a r ...

'', May 3, 2007
P. Buckley Moss SocietyP. Buckley Moss Foundation for Children's Education
{{DEFAULTSORT:Moss, P. Buckley 1933 births 2024 deaths Artists from Staten Island Cooper Union alumni Painters from New York City People from Waynesboro, Virginia Painters from Virginia 20th-century American painters 20th-century American women painters 21st-century American painters 21st-century American women painters People with dyslexia