Description
Ready for Christmas by P. Buckley Moss
Introduction
Ready for Christmas by P. Buckley Moss is a 2013 giclée, limited, numbered Fine Art Print that brings together two enduring holiday subjects: childhood and the Christmas tree. A young boy sits comfortably on the ground holding a small evergreen decorated with red and dark ornaments and crowned by a warm golden star.
Soft blues dominate the child’s clothing, while the little tree supplies contrasting green, red, and gold. Against the nearly white background, Moss gives both boy and tree room to stand on their own, creating an intimate Christmas image with a playful, uncomplicated warmth.
Canada Goose Gallery’s approved inventory identifies the work as a 2013 giclée, limited, numbered edition and categorizes its subjects as One Boy and Christmas.
Story Behind the Artwork
Rather than showing a grand Christmas celebration, Ready for Christmas concentrates on one child and one small tree. The boy holds the slender trunk in both hands, and the tree—with its sparse branches, simple ornaments, and star—is modest enough to feel almost like something prepared especially for him.
That simplicity gives the artwork much of its charm. It can remind collectors of the small rituals that build anticipation for Christmas: choosing decorations, trimming a tree, helping prepare the house, and waiting for the holiday to arrive. These are visual and emotional interpretations of the scene rather than documented statements of the artist’s intention.
Symbols & Meaning
The Christmas tree carries a long association with family celebration and seasonal tradition. Here, its small scale places the emphasis not on elaborate decoration but on the relationship between the child and the holiday ritual.
The star at the top provides the tree’s brightest warm accent, while the boy’s rosy face and pale blue clothing soften the composition. Together, the imagery may evoke childhood anticipation, simplicity, and the way familiar Christmas traditions become part of family memory.
Artistic Details
Moss builds the composition with remarkably few elements. There is no decorated room, winter landscape, pile of presents, or group of figures. Instead, the boy fills the right side of the image while the little tree rises beside him into the open white space.
The child’s bent legs create a broad horizontal base, while the narrow tree provides a vertical counterpoint. His face turns toward the viewer rather than toward the tree, creating an engaging sense that we have encountered him in the middle of his Christmas preparations.
The palette is equally restrained. Layered blue and blue-green tones define his clothing, with darker gray providing contrast in the cap and shoes. Small red ornaments and the golden-orange star punctuate the otherwise cool composition. This economy of color and detail makes the artwork especially effective at its intimate scale.
Featured Master Collections
Primary Master Collection: Christmas Traditions
Ready for Christmas is specifically included in Canada Goose Gallery’s approved Christmas Traditions Master Collection. The Collection celebrates “the sights, sounds, and memories that return every holiday season,” and its defined subjects explicitly include Christmas trees and children.
Supporting Master Collection: Childhood & Storytelling
The solitary young boy also creates a strong connection with Childhood & Storytelling, a Master Collection centered on “the wonder, imagination, and lessons that shape every generation.” Children and childhood memories are among its defined subjects.
Decorating Ideas
At just 3-5/8 × 3-3/4 inches in image size, Ready for Christmas offers opportunities that differ from larger holiday prints. Its intimate proportions encourage close viewing and make it well suited to a small wall grouping, tabletop easel when appropriately framed, shelf arrangement, or Christmas gallery wall.
The predominance of pale blue and white also makes it easy to incorporate into holiday décor without relying on a traditional red-and-green palette. Pairing it with other Moss Christmas works featuring children could create a particularly engaging seasonal grouping built around childhood memories and holiday traditions.
Gift Ideas
Ready for Christmas has especially natural appeal as a Christmas gift for parents and grandparents, as well as collectors who enjoy Moss’s portrayals of children. Its combination of a young boy and a familiar holiday ritual also makes it worth considering for a family beginning or continuing a tradition of giving art at Christmas.
About the Edition
Ready for Christmas was issued in 2013 as a giclée, limited, numbered edition. Canada Goose Gallery’s approved inventory independently confirms the year, medium, edition type, Children/Christmas subject classification, Product ID 11580, and current price of $45.
Numbered edition: 250
Artist’s proofs: 25
Image size: 3-5/8 × 3-3/4 inches
Condition: New, Mint
Certificate of Authenticity: Included
Current price: $45
🎨 Fun Fact:
By the late 19th century, decorating the Christmas tree was already being promoted as an activity children could participate in—not merely something adults prepared for them. An 1881 American chromolithograph preserved by the Library of Congress was actually designed as an interactive Christmas-tree activity: children could cut out printed people, furnishings, and decorations and paste them into the scene. That historical connection between children, creativity, and trimming the tree gives today’s familiar ritual a surprisingly long history as part of childhood Christmas anticipation.
🖼️ Collector’s Insight:
What distinguishes Ready for Christmas is its unusually intimate scale and visual economy. Moss needs only a seated child, a miniature tree, a scattering of ornaments, and a star to establish the Christmas story. The boy’s cool blue clothing occupies much of the composition, allowing the tiny touches of green, red, and gold on the tree to carry the seasonal message. For collectors, that makes the work especially useful as a bridge between two recognizable areas of Moss subject matter—children and Christmas—while its small dimensions invite it to be displayed alongside other intimate works rather than requiring a large wall space.
Why Buy from Canada Goose Gallery
Canada Goose Gallery in Waynesville, Ohio specializes in the art of P. Buckley Moss and provides collectors with clearly identified edition information and condition details. This example of Ready for Christmas is offered in New, Mint condition and includes a Certificate of Authenticity.
Continue Exploring
Explore more works featuring
- Christmas Traditions
- Childhood & Storytelling
- P. Buckley Moss Fine Art Prints at Canada Goose Gallery
- P. Buckley Moss FAQs and collecting information
- Collections Hub
Suggested Categories & Subjects:
- Children
- Christmas
- Angel Friends
- Angelic Rhapsody
- Bathtime Ornament
- Christmas Angel Stocking
- Under The Mistletoe Porcelain Keepsake Box
- Wishing Tree
🎨 Fun Fact:
By 1881, American publishers were creating Christmas-tree activities specifically for children’s participation. One surviving example in the Library of Congress invited children to cut out printed decorations and paste them onto a Christmas scene—evidence that helping prepare the tree was already being presented as part of the fun of a child’s Christmas more than 140 years ago.
🖼️ Collector’s Insight:
Ready for Christmas stands apart through its intimate scale and simplicity: one child, one small tree, and just enough ornament to tell the holiday story. Moss’s cool blue palette makes the red decorations and golden star particularly noticeable, while the broad white background keeps attention on the boy and his tiny tree. For a collector, it provides a natural connection between Moss’s childhood imagery and her Christmas subjects, making it particularly compatible with a seasonal grouping centered on children and family traditions.
“Christmas through a child’s eyes.”
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