Description

The Perfect Tree by P. Buckley Moss

Introduction

The Perfect Tree by P. Buckley Moss is a 2004 limited, numbered lithograph centered on a simple Christmas ritual: carrying home the tree. A solitary young girl crosses a snowy landscape with a freshly cut evergreen balanced along her shoulder, its vivid green branches stretching across the lower half of the composition.

Moss keeps the scene remarkably spare. Snow-covered ground, bare winter trees, and a cool blue sky surround the figure, allowing the green tree and the girl’s dark coat with blue accents to become the strongest points of color. Canada Goose Gallery’s approved inventory confirms the work as a 2004 Limited Edition, Lithograph, Numbered Edition, Product ID 7532, currently priced at $60.

Story Behind the Artwork

The title The Perfect Tree gives the girl’s journey its meaning. The tree is not yet decorated and there is no house or family gathering in view; the artwork captures the earlier moment, when the Christmas tradition is still being prepared.

That choice gives the scene an appealing sense of anticipation. The girl appears to be bringing something important home, and the oversized evergreen makes her task both practical and slightly playful. Collectors may be reminded of trips to choose a tree, carrying it through snow, or the familiar excitement of knowing that decorating will come next.

These associations arise from the title and visible imagery rather than a documented artist statement.

Symbols & Meaning

The evergreen is the unmistakable focal point. Its strong green color contrasts with the bare winter trees in the distance and may suggest continuity and life within the stillness of winter.

The girl’s solitary journey can also be read as determination and responsibility. She is not simply standing beside a Christmas tree; she is actively carrying it, making preparation itself part of the story.

The image therefore works particularly well as a celebration of Christmas ritual rather than Christmas spectacle.

Artistic Details

The composition depends on a striking contrast between the horizontal landscape and the diagonal sweep of the evergreen. The girl’s narrow vertical figure anchors the center, while the tree extends dramatically toward the lower right.

Moss uses very little color beyond blue, white, black, and green. This restrained palette makes the evergreen appear especially fresh and visually dominant. Bare branches in the background repeat delicate linear patterns, while the girl’s clothing introduces deeper, more solid shapes.

The generous open snowfield also gives the image a sense of quiet distance, making the journey feel as important as the destination.

Featured Master Collections

Primary Master Collection: Christmas Traditions

The Perfect Tree is a strong fit for Christmas Traditions, whose approved definition centers on “the sights, sounds, and memories that return every holiday season.” Christmas trees are explicitly named among the Collection’s core subjects.

Although The Perfect Tree does not appear on the current curator-selected representative-title list, the Collection framework clearly supports the assignment because the act of bringing home a Christmas tree is the dominant subject and story.

Supporting Master Collections: None recommended. The young girl is important to the composition, but the artwork is fundamentally about a Christmas ritual rather than childhood or storytelling as a separate theme.

Decorating Ideas

The nearly square format and cool blue-white palette make The Perfect Tree especially easy to incorporate into winter and Christmas displays. It can work in an entry, hallway, family room, kitchen, or seasonal gallery wall, particularly where a quieter piece is needed among brighter holiday imagery.

Its prominent evergreen also makes it a natural companion to Christmas-tree-centered Moss works, while the blue winter palette allows it to pair well with white, silver, evergreen, or traditional red-and-green décor.

Gift Ideas

The Perfect Tree is especially appropriate for collectors who love Christmas-tree traditions, winter scenes, or Moss’s portrayals of children. It may also make a thoughtful gift for someone who considers choosing and decorating the tree one of the most important rituals of the Christmas season.

About the Edition

The Perfect Tree was issued in 2004 as a limited, numbered lithograph. Canada Goose Gallery’s approved inventory confirms Product ID 7532, the 2004 date, the lithograph/limited/numbered format, and the current $60 price.

Numbered edition: 1,000
Artist’s proofs: 25
Image size: 6-1/8 × 6-1/4 inches
Paper size: 8-1/8 × 8-1/4 inches
Condition: New, Mint
Certificate of Authenticity: Included
Current price: $60

🎄 Fun Fact:

The decorated Christmas tree became widely established in the United States through German-American communities during the 19th century. The Library of Congress notes that Pennsylvania Dutch communities had introduced the German custom of a specially decorated Christmas tree to America by 1821, while the Smithsonian records that by the middle of the century Christmas trees had become popular in both the United States and England. That history makes the simple act at the heart of The Perfect Tree—bringing an evergreen home for Christmas—part of a tradition that spread through American family life over generations.

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🖼️ Collector’s Insight:

The Perfect Tree is distinctive because Moss focuses on the journey before the decorating begins. The evergreen dominates the composition, stretching far beyond the girl’s slight figure and providing the only strong green against a landscape of blue, white, and bare winter branches. That contrast gives the artwork a clear visual identity while also setting it apart from Christmas scenes that show fully decorated trees, family gatherings, or finished holiday interiors. For collectors building a Christmas Traditions grouping, it contributes the anticipation and preparation that come before the celebration itself.

Why Buy from Canada Goose Gallery

Canada Goose Gallery in Waynesville, Ohio specializes in P. Buckley Moss artwork and maintains documented product information for collectors. The Perfect Tree is part of the gallery’s approved inventory and is offered in New, Mint condition with a Certificate of Authenticity.

Continue Exploring

For collectors drawn to the Christmas-tree story in The Perfect Tree, Canada Goose Gallery offers several related directions. Particularly relevant current or documented gallery titles include:

• The Tree Lighting
• Wishing Tree
• Our Purrfect Tree
• Ready For Christmas
• Season’s Greetings
• The Toy Tester
• To Grandma’s House We Go
• Tidings of Joy
• The Red Hat Snow Lady
• The Night Before Christmas
• Santa’s Joy

Wishing Tree, The Toy Tester, and To Grandma’s House We Go also align closely with the approved Christmas Traditions framework.

Suggested Categories & Subjects:

• P. Buckley Moss Fine Art Prints
• The Collections Hub
• P. Buckley Moss FAQ
• Christmas
• Winter
• Children

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 “Bringing Christmas home.”