Description
Tree of Cats 2 Painting by P. Buckley Moss
Introduction
Tree of Cats 2 Painting by P. Buckley Moss is a hand-signed, one-of-a-kind original watercolor on paper created in 2002. Against an open white field, Moss transforms a tall black tree into something wonderfully unexpected: its trunk and branches seem to sprout cats, their pointed ears, bright eyes, and elongated necks emerging at different heights like a peculiar feline family tree.
The composition is playful at first glance, but its visual economy is equally striking. Moss uses almost nothing beyond black watercolor, white paper, and the repeated shape of a cat’s face to build movement, personality, and humor into an unusually narrow vertical design.
Canada Goose Gallery’s approved inventory identifies Tree of Cats 2 Painting as Product ID 3603, currently priced at $1,600, and classifies it as Original Art, Painting, Animal, Cat, Nature, and Paper.
Importantly, the current website description incorrectly calls this a “never-printed” work. Canada Goose Gallery’s own inventory documents a 2002 lithograph Artist Proof titled Tree of Cats Artist Proof using this same image, confirming that the original was reproduced as a print edition.
Story Behind the Artwork
In Tree of Cats 2 Painting, Moss does not depict cats sitting conventionally in the branches of a tree. Instead, the cats and the tree become one continuous shape.
A broad black trunk rises from a low horizontal base and gradually narrows as it climbs. At irregular intervals, branches extend outward and terminate in unmistakable feline heads. Some cats seem to lean from the trunk; others rise almost vertically from it. Near the top, several small heads gather closely together, creating a natural crescendo as the composition reaches upward.
The effect is part tree, part gathering of cats, and part visual joke.
The abundance of white space is essential. Rather than surrounding the tree with landscape details, Moss isolates it completely, allowing the viewer to notice the changing angles of the heads, the irregular branching pattern, and the contrast between the heavy lower trunk and increasingly delicate forms above.
At the bottom, the handwritten title and signature become part of the composition itself: “Tree of Cats” followed by Moss’s signature and 2002. The inscription gives the otherwise stark design a particularly personal finish.
Symbols & Meaning
The tree-and-cat combination naturally invites interpretation, but no documented artist statement has been supplied explaining Moss’s intended symbolism for this particular painting.
A tree has long been associated broadly with growth, connection, branching relationships, and continuity, while cats are often culturally associated with independence, alertness, curiosity, and companionship. In this composition, those familiar associations can make the image feel like an imaginative “family tree” of feline personalities.
The upward branching structure may also suggest a community made up of individuals: every cat belongs to the same larger form, yet each occupies its own position and looks outward independently.
Those readings are editorial interpretations rather than documented statements of Moss’s intention. Canada Goose Gallery’s editorial standards specifically require that visible fact, cultural symbolism, and artist intent remain distinct.
Artistic Details
The visual strength of Tree of Cats 2 Painting comes from silhouette, negative space, repetition, and vertical rhythm.
The black trunk is widest and most substantial near the bottom, then divides repeatedly as it rises. Each branching point introduces another cat’s head, so the viewer’s eye naturally climbs from one feline face to the next.
Moss varies the cats enough to prevent the repetition from becoming mechanical. Some heads turn left, others right. A few appear small and distant while lower cats are broader and more prominent. The open white eyes cut through the dark shapes and create tiny flashes of expression.
The composition is also unusually narrow. At only 2-15/16 inches wide by 6-13/16 inches high, it emphasizes height rather than breadth. That proportion strengthens the joke implicit in the title: this is quite literally a “tree of cats.”
The palette is equally restrained. Canada Goose Gallery’s current record identifies Black and Pearl White, allowing the shapes themselves—not color—to carry the entire design.
Featured Master Collections
Primary Master Collection: Animals & Companions
This is the strongest assignment. Canada Goose Gallery defines Animals & Companions around cats, dogs, horses, pets, working animals, animal friendships, and other animals that share human lives. The approved collection specifically includes cat works such as Meow 1, Meow 2, Cat Dreams, Flower Puss, and The Glance.
Although Tree of Cats 2 Painting is not currently named in the published representative list, its subject fits the collection directly: cats are the sole identifiable living subject and the central reason for the composition.
The existing P. Buckley Moss Cat Collection should remain an important subject archive and internal-navigation destination, but under Canada Goose Gallery’s framework it should not be confused with an official Master Collection.
Decorating Ideas
The painting’s strong vertical format makes it especially useful in spaces that can be difficult to decorate with conventional horizontal or square art.
Consider it for a narrow wall beside a doorway, small column wall, bookshelf grouping, reading nook, hallway, home office, studio, library, or intimate gallery wall.
The pure black-and-white palette works with Contemporary, Minimalist, Eclectic, Transitional, Modern Farmhouse, Bohemian, and Collected Home interiors. It can provide a graphic contrast beside Moss’s colorful landscapes or function as part of a monochromatic group of cat-themed works.
For a particularly cohesive display, pair the original with the published Tree of Cats Artist Proof or with other graphic feline works such as Meow 1, Meow 2, or the Meow Set.
Gift Ideas
As a one-of-a-kind original, Tree of Cats 2 Painting is best suited to a significant gift occasion.
It has obvious appeal for a cat lover, but the composition also speaks to collectors interested in original Moss paintings, graphic black-and-white art, unusual vertical compositions, and originals that later became published editions.
Appropriate occasions include a milestone birthday, anniversary, retirement, new home, important collection addition, or a meaningful gift honoring a longtime feline companion.
About the Edition
Artist: P. Buckley Moss
Title: Tree of Cats 2 Painting
Inscribed Title on Artwork: “Tree of Cats”
Year: 2002
Medium: Original watercolor on paper
Edition Type: One-of-a-kind original artwork
Original Artwork: Yes
Used for a Published Edition: Yes
Related Published Work: Tree of Cats Artist Proof
Published Medium: Lithograph
Artist Proof Edition: 25
Standard Numbered Edition: Exists according to Gallery information, but total standard edition size is not currently verified
Image Size: 2-15/16 x 6-13/16 inches
Orientation: Vertical
Current Price: $1,600
Condition: New, mint condition; never previously sold according to supplied Gallery information
Certificate of Authenticity: Included
Signature / Inscription: “Tree of Cats Moss 2002” at bottom
Availability: One in stock
Product ID: 3603
Verified Subjects: Animal; Cat; Nature
Support: Paper
Canada Goose Gallery’s approved inventory confirms the $1,600 price, Product ID 3603, Painting classification, Original Art status, Paper support, and Animal/Cat/Nature subjects. The Gallery also documents a 2002 Tree of Cats Artist Proof as a limited-edition lithograph with an Artist Proof edition of 25, confirming that this design was reproduced.
🎨 Fun Fact:
Real cats are exceptionally capable tree climbers because their sharp, extendable claws grip bark while powerful hind legs propel them upward. Coming down can be more complicated: the backward curve of a cat’s claws is better suited to climbing upward than descending headfirst, which is one reason cats sometimes hesitate or become stranded after reaching an ambitious perch. That makes Moss’s impossible Tree of Cats especially amusing—the cats here do not have to climb the tree at all; they have effectively become its branches.
🖼️ Collector’s Insight:
The most distinctive aspect of Tree of Cats 2 Painting is the way Moss eliminates the boundary between subject and structure. These are not simply cats placed on a painted tree—the tree itself is constructed from feline forms, with necks becoming branches and heads marking each new extension. Its unusually narrow 2-15/16 x 6-13/16-inch format intensifies that upward rhythm. For collectors, the painting also carries a documented connection to Moss’s published work: Canada Goose Gallery records a 2002 lithograph Artist Proof edition of 25 using the same design, making this watercolor the original source artwork behind a subsequently reproduced Moss cat image.
Why Buy from Canada Goose Gallery
Canada Goose Gallery offers Tree of Cats 2 Painting as the one-of-a-kind, hand-signed original watercolor, currently new and in mint condition with a Certificate of Authenticity. The Gallery’s inventory also documents the corresponding Tree of Cats Artist Proof, allowing collectors to understand the relationship between Moss’s original artwork and its later published form.
Continue Exploring
Continue with the Canada Goose Gallery:
- P. Buckley Moss Cat Collection
- P. Buckley Moss Original Paintings
- P. Buckley Moss FAQ
- Collections Hub
- Animals & Companions Master Collection.
The strongest related works are:
Canada Goose Gallery’s approved inventory verifies Tree of Cats Artist Proof as a 2002 Artist Proof lithograph and Meow 1 and Meow 2 as published feline editions.
🎨 Fun Fact:
Cats are superb upward climbers because their curved claws grip tree bark and their powerful hind legs propel them toward higher branches. Descending headfirst is harder because those claws are oriented more effectively for climbing up than down. The behavior adds an extra layer of humor to Moss’s Tree of Cats: her felines need no climbing skills at all—they are literally incorporated into the tree itself.
🖼️ Collector’s Insight:
Tree of Cats 2 Painting succeeds through an unusually clever transformation: Moss does not illustrate a tree populated by cats but makes the cats part of the tree’s architecture. The narrow vertical proportions, black-and-white palette, and repeated feline heads distinguish it from more conventional Moss animal compositions. The original also has documented publishing importance because the design subsequently appeared as a 2002 lithograph, including a verified edition of 25 Artist Proofs.
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“Some family trees have whiskers.”
“A cat tree, taken wonderfully literally.”
“Every branch has a personality.”
“One tree. Many watchful eyes.”
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