Description

The Lighthouse Port Ontario by P. Buckley Moss

Introduction

The Lighthouse Port Ontario is a 1991 limited-edition lithograph by P. Buckley Moss featuring the historic lighthouse at Port Ontario, New York, with two Canada geese standing prominently in the foreground. The lighthouse rises above a quiet, pale landscape rendered in restrained shades of gray, cream, brown, blue, and muted green.

Moss gives the architecture a strong presence without allowing it to overwhelm the scene. The geese provide an intimate foreground counterpoint to the historic structure, bringing wildlife and human history together within a composition that feels spacious and still.

The Canada Goose Gallery product record confirms the 1991 date, vertical orientation, New York location, lighthouse and geese subjects, and edition size of 1,000.

Story Behind the Artwork

The building depicted is the historic Selkirk Lighthouse, also known as the Salmon River Lighthouse, at Port Ontario on Lake Ontario. Built in 1838 near the mouth of the Salmon River, it served a developing harbor at a time when Great Lakes communities depended heavily on waterborne commerce.

Contemporary historical records describe Port Ontario as a rapidly developing shipping point, handling lumber, cheese, potatoes, butter, and other goods. The light was first exhibited in August 1838.

That verified history gives Moss’s depiction an added dimension: the building is not simply an atmospheric lighthouse but part of the maritime history of Lake Ontario and northern New York.

Symbols & Meaning

Lighthouses have long been associated culturally with guidance, steadfastness, safe passage, and endurance. In this artwork, those associations are strengthened by the solidity of the historic building within the open landscape.

The paired Canada geese introduce another layer of interpretation. Their close placement may evoke companionship and shared passage, while the lighthouse can be read as a stable presence behind them. These are visual and cultural interpretations rather than documented statements of Moss’s intention, in keeping with Canada Goose Gallery’s standards for separating interpretation from verified fact.

Artistic Details

Moss uses a subdued palette to create much of the atmosphere in The Lighthouse Port Ontario. Soft gray-blue washes fill the sky and landscape, while warmer brown and rust tones concentrate attention on the lighthouse masonry and the bodies of the geese.

The vertical format establishes a strong progression from the elongated shadows and birds in the foreground to the lighthouse above. Fine reeds and grasses create delicate linear accents across the otherwise broad, quiet areas of color. Architectural details—the masonry, dark roof, windows, chimney, attached building, and distinctive lantern—give the lighthouse recognizable character.

The long shadows cast by the geese are especially effective compositionally, extending the foreground toward the viewer and adding another directional element to the scene.

Featured Master Collections

Primary Master Collection: Along the Water

This is the strongest collection assignment. Canada Goose Gallery defines Along the Water around America’s rivers, bays, harbors, coastlines, lighthouses, waterfront architecture, and maritime history. The gallery has also identified lighthouse imagery as an important component of the collection.

Supporting Master Collection: Landmarks & Historic Places

The documented 1838 lighthouse gives the work a direct connection to architectural and maritime history. The gallery’s approved framework specifically includes historic buildings and architectural heritage within Landmarks & Historic Places.

Supporting Master Collection: Place & Memory

Because the artwork represents an identifiable New York location rather than a generalized lighthouse, it also has particular relevance for collectors with connections to Lake Ontario, Port Ontario, the Salmon River region, or northern New York.

Decorating Ideas

The understated palette makes The Lighthouse Port Ontario well suited to coastal, traditional, cottage, and collected interiors without requiring a conventional blue-and-white nautical scheme. Its weathered browns, soft blue-grays, cream, charcoal, and muted green can complement natural woods, antique furnishings, woven textures, and neutral walls.

Its vertical orientation makes it particularly useful in narrower spaces such as an entry, study, reading area, stair landing, or beside a bookcase. It can also anchor a grouping of lighthouse, Great Lakes, New York, or P. Buckley Moss landmark artwork.

Gift Ideas

This print has several natural gift audiences: lighthouse enthusiasts, Canada goose collectors, Great Lakes travelers, New York history enthusiasts, and people with personal memories of the Lake Ontario region.

Its combination of a real historic place and recognizable wildlife can make it especially meaningful for someone whose connection to Port Ontario or Lake Ontario is part of a family story, vacation tradition, hometown memory, or favorite journey.

About the Edition

Created in 1991, The Lighthouse Port Ontario is a limited, numbered lithograph. The numbered edition consists of 1,000 prints, with 25 artist’s proofs. The image measures 9-3/4 x 8-15/16 inches, with a paper size of 11-3/4 x 10-15/16 inches.

This example is offered in mint condition, and a Certificate of Authenticity is provided.

🎨 Fun Fact:

The Port Ontario lighthouse preserves a particularly unusual piece of early American lighthouse technology. The National Park Service identifies the Selkirk (Salmon River) Lighthouse, built in 1838, as retaining its original-style “bird cage” lantern—a type associated with American lighthouses built before standardized cast-iron lanterns and Fresnel lenses became widespread in the mid-19th century. Most older lanterns were replaced as lighthouse technology advanced, making surviving examples important evidence of an earlier era in American navigation.

---

🖼️ Collector’s Insight:

The Lighthouse Port Ontario is distinguished by the way Moss combines three collecting interests within one compact composition: an identifiable historic landmark, Canada geese, and Great Lakes regional history. Rather than isolating the lighthouse as a conventional architectural portrait, she places the paired geese prominently in the foreground, their long shadows leading into the landscape and toward the historic structure. The restrained palette gives the building and birds a quiet visual unity. For collectors, this makes the work especially relevant to Along the Water while also connecting naturally with Moss’s historic-place and animal imagery. The 1991 date and supplied edition information further position it within her earlier limited-edition lithographs without requiring unsupported claims about market demand or investment value.

Why Buy from Canada Goose Gallery

Canada Goose Gallery offers The Lighthouse Port Ontario in mint condition with a Certificate of Authenticity provided. The gallery specializes in P. Buckley Moss artwork and provides collectors with detailed information about editions, subjects, locations, and related works.

Continue Exploring

Collectors interested in this work can continue through Canada Goose Gallery’s lighthouse and waterfront artwork, including other verified lighthouse subjects currently in gallery inventory. The gallery’s approved collection strategy specifically identifies Along the Water as an important home for lighthouse, Chesapeake, river, harbor, and coastal imagery.

• Michigan Lighthouse Set
• North Carolina Lighthouse Set
• Rock Island Light
• Dawn at the Dape
• Florida Winter
• Hatteras
• Lighthouse Keeper at Thomas Point
• Currituck Artist Proof
• The Beacon
• The Light Shines On
• The Lighthouse
• Coastal Treasures
• Sanibel Light Ornament

Suggested Categories & Subjects:

• P. Buckley Moss Fine Art Prints
• Lighthouses
• Historic Landmarks & Places
• New York
• P. Buckley Moss Rare & Retired Moss Prints
• Collections Hub
• P. Buckley Moss FAQ

---

 “Where history still watches the water.”