Description
The Dairy Man Artist Proof by P. Buckley Moss
Introduction
The Dairy Man Artist Proof by P. Buckley Moss is a 1997 limited-edition lithograph that preserves a recognizable piece of Newport News, Virginia agricultural history: the Yoder Dairy. A farmer drives a green John Deere tractor across the foreground while Holstein dairy cattle gather behind white fencing. Beyond them stands the distinctive Yoder Dairy barn, accompanied by farm buildings and silos beneath a softly glowing sky.
This particular example is an Artist’s Proof, one of 25 APs associated with the edition of 1,000 numbered prints. The image measures 9⅜ × 15⅜ inches on 11⅜ × 17⅜-inch paper. It is offered in new, mint condition with a Certificate of Authenticity for $250.
Story Behind the Artwork
Unlike a generalized farm scene, The Dairy Man depicts a place with a documented history. The Yoder Dairy barn and silos were longstanding landmarks in Newport News, Virginia. When the dairy acreage was rezoned for commercial use, the barn and other farm landmarks were moved to a nearby property in 1995.
That date gives Moss’s 1997 print additional context. The Dairy Man was issued only two years after the barn’s relocation, preserving the Yoder Dairy visually through the familiar language of an operating farm: cattle, fencing, tractor, silos, fields, and the barn prominently labeled “YODER DAIRY.”
The building later entered a very different chapter. The Yoder family’s preservation efforts helped turn the barn into a performing-arts space. In 2007, the property was gifted to Christopher Newport University. CNU’s audited financial statement confirms that the Yoder Barn property was gifted to the university in spring 2007, and the university continues to use Yoder Barn today for educational programs, lectures, and events. Christopher Newport University
The history gives the artwork an unusual dual identity: it records an agricultural landmark whose function subsequently changed while the building itself survived.
Symbols & Meaning
The tractor, dairy cattle, barn, silos, and fencing are not merely decorative rural details; together they identify the working agricultural character of Yoder Dairy.
More broadly, barns can represent continuity and shelter, while cultivated fields and farm machinery can evoke agricultural labor and the relationship between people and land. In this particular artwork, those associations gain additional significance because the Yoder barn itself was preserved after the surrounding farm changed.
The historical facts are documented; ideas of continuity, work, and preservation are editorial interpretations rather than statements of Moss’s intention.
Artistic Details
Moss uses the print’s long horizontal format to build The Dairy Man in distinct layers.
The green tractor provides the strongest foreground element. Its wheels, driver, and trailing farm implement create movement from left to right across the otherwise calm landscape. Behind it, the white fence establishes a horizontal boundary, punctuated by black-and-white dairy cattle.
The Yoder barn becomes the architectural focal point. Its pale façade and curved roof contrast with the surrounding autumnal trees, while the green roof visually echoes the tractor. The clearly rendered YODER DAIRY sign ensures that the location remains part of the artwork rather than simply serving as anonymous farm scenery.
Moss also gives the sky an unusually warm role. Bands of cream, peach, rose, and muted gold soften the agricultural subject and provide a quiet backdrop for the detailed activity below.
Featured Master Collections
Primary Master Collection — The Heart of Rural America
This is one of the clearest possible assignments to The Heart of Rural America. The approved collection encompasses farms, tractors, barns, farm animals, agricultural life, fields, rural families, work ethic, and Americana—all central to The Dairy Man.
Supporting Master Collection — Landmarks & Historic Places
The Yoder Dairy barn is a documented Newport News landmark with a history extending beyond its agricultural use. Its preservation, relocation, and later transfer to Christopher Newport University make the building itself historically meaningful. CNU continues to identify Yoder Barn as a named university location at 660 Hamilton Drive in Newport News. Christopher Newport University
Supporting Master Collection — Rare & Remarkable
This specific offered impression is one of 25 Artist’s Proofs. The supporting assignment is based on the AP format of this particular print rather than simply on its limited-edition status.
Decorating Ideas
The Dairy Man is particularly well suited to Americana, Country, Modern Farmhouse, Traditional, Rustic, Historic Home, and Collected Home interiors.
Its horizontal format works naturally above a desk, sideboard, console, mantel, or farmhouse dining arrangement. The green tractor and barn roof introduce color without overwhelming the muted peach, cream, tan, and autumnal background.
For a collector building a group around American farming, tractors, barns, or Virginia places, the identifiable Yoder Dairy setting gives the artwork a stronger sense of place than a generalized rural scene.
Gift Ideas
The Dairy Man Artist Proof offers especially meaningful possibilities for dairy-farming families, agricultural professionals, tractor enthusiasts, rural-heritage collectors, Virginia residents, Christopher Newport University alumni and families, or anyone with personal memories of the former Yoder Dairy.
It could also commemorate a retirement from farming, a multigenerational farm family, a dairy-industry career, or a connection to Newport News.
About the Edition
The Dairy Man was issued in 1997 as a numbered, limited-edition lithograph.
Numbered edition: 1,000
Artist’s Proofs: 25
Offered example: Artist’s Proof
Image size: 9⅜ × 15⅜ inches
Paper size: 11⅜ × 17⅜ inches
Orientation: Horizontal
Condition: New / Mint
Certificate of Authenticity: Included
Current price: $250
The supplied photograph appears to show an AP notation in the lower-right margin. The exact AP number should be confirmed directly from the physical print before entering it into permanent inventory data.
🎨 Fun Fact:
The Yoder barn experienced an unusually dramatic change of purpose: a building associated with dairy farming ultimately became a place for performances, lectures, and lifelong learning. Christopher Newport University’s records confirm that the Yoder Barn property was gifted to the university in spring 2007, and today CNU lists Yoder Barn as the home of its LifeLong Learning Society, where courses, lectures, concerts, and other programs are held. Christopher Newport University That makes the building pictured in The Dairy Man more than a surviving reminder of a former dairy—it is an example of agricultural architecture gaining an entirely new community life after its original farming role changed.
🖼️ Collector’s Insight:
The Dairy Man Artist Proof is distinguished by the intersection of rural narrative and documented place history. The tractor, dairy cattle, silos, fencing, and barn make it one of Moss’s particularly complete working-farm compositions, yet the clearly lettered Yoder Dairy barn prevents the scene from becoming generic Americana. Knowing that the building was relocated before this print was issued and later preserved for a new community purpose adds historical context without changing what Moss actually depicts: the visual identity of a working dairy farm. For collectors, this particular impression adds another documented distinction—it belongs to the 25 Artist’s Proofs associated with the edition.
Why Buy from Canada Goose Gallery
Canada Goose Gallery specializes in P. Buckley Moss artwork and provides collectors with clearly documented edition, condition, dimension, and authentication information.
This Dairy Man example is an Artist’s Proof, offered in new, mint condition with a Certificate of Authenticity. Its combination of agricultural subject matter, documented Virginia location, and AP format gives collectors several concrete ways to place it within a Moss collection without relying on unsupported claims about future value.
Continue Exploring
Collectors drawn to the tractor and working-farm story should continue with:
- Tractors On Parade, one of the representative works in Canada Goose Gallery’s Heart of Rural America collection.
- Days Gone By is another verified CGG title with a strong rural-heritage connection.
- Standing the Test Of Time Artist Proof combines barn, landscape, and rural-life subjects in an Artist’s Proof format.
- P. Buckley Moss Rare Prints
- The Collections Hub
For the barn-and-farm side of The Dairy Man:
All prints are particularly relevant titles within the approved Heart of Rural America framework. These works extend the specific themes of barns, agricultural land, rural work, and American farm heritage rather than relying only on general visual similarity.
“A working farm remembered. A landmark preserved.”
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