Description

Remembering The Iowa State Fair Ornament by P. Buckley Moss

Introduction

Remembering The Iowa State Fair Ornament by P. Buckley Moss is a 2009 numbered, limited-edition porcelain ornament celebrating the Iowa State Fair in Des Moines through a compact scene of historic fairground architecture, agricultural imagery, flags, pumpkins, and fair tents.

A cow looks outward from the foreground while the fairgrounds rise behind it in warm orange, rust, cream, and green. That placement immediately connects the landmark with the agricultural traditions that have been central to state fairs for generations.

Canada Goose Gallery’s approved inventory identifies Remembering The Iowa State Fair Ornament as Product ID 22558, currently priced at $40, and verifies it as a porcelain, limited, numbered edition ornament classified under Historic Landmark. The current Canada Goose Gallery page additionally verifies the 2009 date, Des Moines location, 3 5/16-inch diameter, round orientation, Certificate of Authenticity, and American Flag, Autumn, Cows, Fall, Farm, Historic Landmarks, Places, and Pumpkin subjects.

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Story Behind the Artwork

Rather than isolating a single fair building, Moss compresses several pieces of the Iowa State Fair experience into one circular composition.

Historic brick architecture fills much of the upper portion. Flags rise above the grounds, small tents appear at right, and pathways lead the eye through the scene. In the foreground, the cow moves the story away from architecture alone and toward the agricultural foundation of the fair. Pumpkins near the lower edge reinforce the connection to farm products and seasonal exhibition.

The composition therefore works on two levels. It is a recognizable place portrait of the Iowa State Fair, but it is also an image of the rural traditions that give the fair much of its identity.

The warm orange atmosphere unifies these otherwise varied elements. Instead of reproducing a single photographic view, Moss creates something closer to a remembered fair day—architecture, livestock, flags, displays, and autumn color gathered into one scene.

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Symbols & Meaning

The strongest themes are community, agricultural heritage, place memory, and tradition carried forward.

State fairs have historically brought together farmers, livestock exhibitors, food producers, craftspeople, families, entertainers, and visitors. In this ornament, the cow and pumpkins provide the clearest link to agriculture, while the buildings and flags establish the public and civic character of the fairgrounds.

For collectors with Iowa connections, the image may also carry memories of family trips, 4-H participation, livestock shows, favorite buildings, midway traditions, or annual visits to Des Moines. Canada Goose Gallery’s buyer framework identifies both the Place-Based Buyer and the Rural Heritage Buyer as especially responsive to exact locations, county fairs, agriculture, community, and personal memory.

These meanings arise from the visible imagery and documented history of the Fair. They should not be presented as specific intentions of P. Buckley Moss unless an artwork-specific artist statement is located.

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Artistic Details

The ornament’s most immediate artistic characteristic is its warm, nearly monochromatic fair-day glow.

Canada Goose Gallery’s current product record identifies Black, Cream, Orange Red, Pearl White, Rust, Tangerine Orange, and Yellow Green among its colors. Orange and rust dominate the ground and sky, while cream architecture and small areas of green provide relief.

The cow is positioned low and left of center, bringing an organic, rounded form against the sharper geometry of the buildings. Tall vertical poles and flags help organize the middle of the composition and counterbalance the horizontal spread of the fairgrounds.

Small pumpkins at the lower right echo the orange field around them but remain distinct because of their darker outlines. The tents farther back add another layer of activity without turning the ornament into a crowded midway scene.

The circular porcelain format is particularly effective here: the viewer sees the Fair almost as though looking through a small window into a remembered place.

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Featured Master Collections

Primary Master Collection: Landmarks & Historic Places

This is the strongest assignment. The approved Canada Goose Gallery inventory already classifies the ornament as Historic Landmark, and the artwork centers on the identifiable Iowa State Fairgrounds rather than a generic farm or festival.

Supporting Master Collection: Place & Memory

Canada Goose Gallery defines the Place-Based Buyer around exact places, hometown or regional pride, remembrance, travel, recognizable architecture, and personal history. Remembering The Iowa State Fair Ornament fits this particularly well because the title itself is built around memory of a specific Iowa institution.

Supporting Master Collection: The Heart of Rural America

The cow, pumpkins, farm subjects, and agricultural identity of the State Fair give this piece a strong rural-heritage connection. Canada Goose Gallery defines The Heart of Rural America around farms, harvest, agricultural life, rural heritage, and multigenerational buyers.

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Decorating Ideas

Remembering The Iowa State Fair Ornament works naturally on a Christmas tree, especially for a family with Iowa roots, agricultural ties, or a tradition of attending the Fair.

Its warm orange, rust, cream, and muted green palette also makes it attractive for year-round display on a small ornament easel in a kitchen, office, entryway, farmhouse-style room, curio cabinet, or Iowa memorabilia display.

It complements Americana, Farmhouse, Country, Traditional, and Collected Home interiors. For an especially personal arrangement, place it alongside family fair photographs, ribbons, vintage fair souvenirs, or other Moss works connected to Iowa and rural life.

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Gift Ideas

This ornament is particularly meaningful for Iowa families, former Iowa residents, farmers, livestock exhibitors, 4-H families, State Fair enthusiasts, agricultural educators, and P. Buckley Moss collectors.

It can mark a family tradition of attending the Fair, commemorate years of exhibiting livestock or projects, or simply preserve a connection to Iowa after a move away from the state.

Strong gift occasions include Christmas, retirement, birthdays, family reunions, relocation gifts, agricultural milestones, and gifts for someone whose summers have long included the Iowa State Fair.

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About the Edition

Artist: P. Buckley Moss
Title: Remembering The Iowa State Fair Ornament
Year: 2009
Medium: Porcelain
Edition Type: Limited Edition; Numbered Edition; Christmas Ornament
Numbered Edition: Yes
Total Edition Size: Not verified
Artist’s Proofs: Not documented
Size: 3 5/16 inches diameter
Orientation: Round
Current Price: $40
Condition: New, mint condition
Certificate of Authenticity: Included
Presentation: Gift boxed; pouch and gold cord supplied in current gallery information
Product ID: 22558
Approved Inventory Classification: Historic Landmark
Current Website Subjects: American Flag; Autumn; Cows; Fall; Farm; Historic Landmarks; Places; Pumpkin
Location: Des Moines, Iowa
Availability: Current page shows Add to Cart

The product ID, price, medium, edition type, and Historic Landmark classification are verified in Canada Goose Gallery’s approved inventory. The current product page verifies the remaining published product attributes listed above except where specifically noted for review.

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🎨 Fun Fact:

The cow in Moss’s ornament is not identified as the Iowa State Fair’s famous Butter Cow, but the Fair’s bovine imagery has an extraordinary tradition of its own. The first Iowa State Fair Butter Cow was sculpted in 1911, and today a life-size version is created over a wood, metal, wire, and steel-mesh framework using about 600 pounds of low-moisture Iowa butter. Even more surprising, much of that butter is recycled after the Fair and can be reused for as long as ten years.

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🖼️ Collector’s Insight:

What distinguishes Remembering The Iowa State Fair Ornament is the way Moss combines a real American gathering place with the agricultural life that gives it meaning. The fairground buildings establish Des Moines and the Iowa State Fair as a specific destination, while the cow, pumpkins, flags, and tents broaden the scene into a story of farming, exhibition, and community. The title’s word “Remembering” is also important: this is not simply an architectural souvenir. It naturally serves collectors whose attachment to the Fair is personal—family visits, livestock competition, childhood summers, or an enduring connection to Iowa.

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Why Buy from Canada Goose Gallery

Canada Goose Gallery currently offers Remembering The Iowa State Fair Ornament new and in mint condition and includes a Certificate of Authenticity. The gallery’s approved inventory verifies its numbered, limited-edition porcelain format and Historic Landmark classification.

For collectors building around rural America, landmarks, Iowa, or annual Moss ornaments, the piece offers several meaningful collection pathways without relying on unsupported claims of rarity or investment value.

Official Artist Certification

This P. Buckley Moss ornament is accompanied by its original, official certificate from the artist’s collection. This document is the primary record of provenance, detailing the edition title and the craftsmanship involved in the firing process. This official certification replaces our standard gallery certificate to ensure you have the most direct documentation from the artist’s studio. Each Ornament comes gift boxed according to the year it was created.

Any number of ornaments ship for one flat fee.

Continue Exploring

Continue through Canada Goose Gallery’s:

• P. Buckley Moss Ornament Collection
• Landmarks & Historic Places
• The Heart of Rural America
• Collections Hub
• Christmas Ornament Easel
• Roanoke Farmer’s Market Ornament, and landmark ornaments that preserve recognizable American places. Canada Goose Gallery’s approved inventory confirms both Remembering The Iowa State Fair Ornament and Roanoke Farmer’s Market Ornament within the current ornament assortment.

Suggested Categories and Subjects:

• Iowa
• Farm
• Cows
• American Flag
• Autumn

🎨 Fun Fact:

The Iowa State Fair’s first Butter Cow appeared in 1911. Today the sculpture uses roughly 600 pounds of butter over a reusable internal framework—and much of the butter itself can be recycled for future sculptures for up to ten years.

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🖼️ Collector’s Insight:

The ornament’s strength lies in its crossover between specific place and shared rural tradition. Moss identifies the Iowa State Fair through its architecture and flags, but the foreground cow and pumpkins keep agriculture visibly at the heart of the composition. That makes it especially relevant to collectors whose attachment comes not simply from Iowa geography, but from memories of livestock, farming, exhibitions, and family fair traditions.

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“Some traditions become part of the family calendar.”

“Where Iowa memories come back every summer.”

 “More than a fair—a tradition carried forward.”

“The place where farm, family and memory meet.”