Description

Tree With Nine Lives Painting by P. Buckley Moss

Introduction

Tree With Nine Lives Painting by P. Buckley Moss is a one-of-a-kind original watercolor on paper built around one of the most enduring pieces of feline folklore: the cat’s proverbial “nine lives.” Moss places nine stylized black cats in and around the sweeping trunk of a pale, leafless tree, allowing their silhouettes, curling tails, pointed ears, and alert white eyes to punctuate an otherwise restrained composition.

The painting carries additional collector significance because this original watercolor was used to create the limited-edition print of the same image, issued in 250 numbered prints with 25 artist proofs, according to Canada Goose Gallery’s supplied edition information. The painting itself remains the singular original artwork from which that edition was reproduced.

Canada Goose Gallery’s approved inventory identifies Tree With Nine Lives Painting as Product ID 38199, currently priced at $2,700, and classifies it as an Original Art Painting on paper with Animal, Cat, Nature, and Trees subjects.

Story Behind the Artwork

The title provides the key to Moss’s visual joke: the tree really does contain nine feline “lives.”

Rather than arranging the cats in a neat pattern, Moss distributes them throughout the tree at different heights and in different attitudes. One sits upright high in the branches. Another appears to walk along an upper limb. Several gather around the broad base of the trunk, where their curved backs and long tails echo the bends in the tree itself.

That relationship between cat and tree is central to the composition. The gray trunk divides, curves, and stretches outward in lines that feel related to the cats’ own elongated bodies and tails. As a result, the animals do not look pasted onto a landscape; they seem visually integrated into the tree.

The painting also rewards a second look. The large open areas initially make the composition seem spare, but the eye gradually discovers cats at different levels—from the upper branches to those clustered near the roots.

Symbols & Meaning

The title clearly connects the work to the centuries-old saying that cats have nine lives. Beyond that documented title connection, the meaning should remain open to the viewer.

The tree can reasonably evoke growth, continuity, branching relationships, or interconnectedness, while the cats may suggest independence, curiosity, companionship, or watchfulness. Because nine individual cats share one tree while retaining distinct poses, the composition can also be read as a playful balance between belonging and individuality.

Those are visual interpretations rather than documented statements of Moss’s intent. Canada Goose Gallery’s editorial standards call for exactly this distinction between visible fact, established cultural symbolism, and artist intention.

Artistic Details

Tree With Nine Lives Painting depends on an especially restrained vocabulary of black, gray, white, line, and negative space.

The broad tree is developed in translucent gray washes rather than solid black, allowing the trunk and branches to remain lighter than the cats. Against those softer grays, the small black feline silhouettes become immediate focal points.

Moss varies the cats through posture rather than detailed anatomy. A raised neck, curved tail, crouched body, or forward step is enough to make one animal read differently from the next. Their pale eyes provide tiny but effective points of contrast.

The tree introduces another layer of movement. Thick central limbs divide into increasingly fine, wandering branches that extend toward the edges of the image. Their irregular curves keep the composition from becoming static, while the large untouched areas of paper preserve an airy, uncluttered feeling.

The horizontal image measures 6-5/8 by 10-3/4 inches, giving the tree room to spread laterally and making the work particularly suited to spaces where a wider composition is desirable.

Featured Master Collections

Primary Master Collection: Animals & Companions

This is the strongest assignment. Canada Goose Gallery defines Animals & Companions around cats, dogs, horses, pets, wildlife, animal friendships, and the animals that share people’s lives. Cats are a core subject within the collection, with works such as Cat Dreams, Flower Puss, Meow 1, Meow 2, and The Glance included among its representative titles.

Supporting Master Collection: Rare & Remarkable

The approved Master Collection framework includes original paintings among the qualifying subjects for Rare & Remarkable. Because Tree With Nine Lives Painting is the unique original watercolor behind a subsequently published edition, it fits this collection on documented format and publishing history rather than on an unsupported claim of marketplace rarity.

Decorating Ideas

The painting’s limited palette makes it unusually adaptable for an original Moss work. Its black, gray, and white tones can complement Contemporary, Minimalist, Transitional, Eclectic, Modern Farmhouse, and Collected Home interiors.

The wide horizontal format works especially well above a desk, console, bookshelf, small chest, reading nook, or within a cat- or animal-themed gallery wall. Because the image contains extensive negative space, it can also provide visual breathing room beside more colorful Moss landscapes or seasonal pieces.

For a focused feline grouping, it would pair naturally with Tree of Cats 2 Painting, Tree of Cats Artist Proof, Meow 1 Painting, Meow 1, Meow 2, or the Meow Set.

Gift Ideas

As the one original watercolor behind a published edition, Tree With Nine Lives Painting is most appropriate for a significant collecting occasion.

It may be especially meaningful for a dedicated P. Buckley Moss collector, lifelong cat lover, collector of Moss originals, or someone building a collection around her graphic feline imagery.

Appropriate occasions include a milestone birthday, major anniversary, retirement, new home, significant collection addition, or remembrance connected with a beloved cat.

About the Edition

Artist: P. Buckley Moss
Title: Tree With Nine Lives Painting
Inscribed Title: “The Tree With Nine Lives”
Original Creation Date: 2011, according to the inscription and supplied Gallery history
Medium: Original watercolor on paper
Edition Type: One-of-a-kind original artwork
Original Artwork: Yes
Used for a Printed Edition: Yes
Related Limited Edition: Tree With Nine Lives
Numbered Print Edition: 250, supplied by Canada Goose Gallery
Artist’s Proofs: 25, supplied by Canada Goose Gallery
Image Size: 6-5/8 x 10-3/4 inches
Orientation: Horizontal
Current Price: $2,700
Condition: Mint; never previously sold according to supplied Gallery records
Certificate of Authenticity: Included
Product ID: 38199
Verified Subjects: Animal; Cat; Nature; Trees
Support: Paper
Current Availability: One in stock
Gallery Viewing: Available to view at Canada Goose Gallery, according to supplied information

The approved Gallery inventory independently confirms Product ID 38199, the current $2,700 price, Painting classification, P. Buckley Moss as artist, Paper support, Original Art status, and Animal/Cat/Nature/Trees subjects.

The artwork carries an unusual double inscription. Gallery information records “The Tree With Nine Lives 2011” across the lower portion, followed farther right by “P Buckley Moss 2020.” According to the Gallery’s supplied history, the first inscription dates from creation and Moss added the later signature while visiting the gallery in 2020. That signing history should remain part of the provenance record, subject to confirmation in Gallery documentation.

🎨 Fun Fact:

The idea that a cat has nine lives is much older than Shakespeare. English writer John Heywood recorded the nine-lives saying in his collection of proverbs in 1546, nearly two decades before Shakespeare was born. Shakespeare later made the belief famous in Romeo and Juliet, when Mercutio taunts Tybalt—the “King of Cats”—about taking one of his nine lives. Moss’s title therefore taps into a feline expression that had already been circulating in English culture for centuries before this painting was created.

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🖼️ Collector’s Insight:

What distinguishes Tree With Nine Lives Painting is the unusually exact relationship between title and composition: Moss gives the viewer nine individual cats and one tree, turning an old saying into a visual counting game. The gray branching structure and the cats’ black silhouettes also create a more open, atmospheric treatment than the denser Tree of Cats 2 Painting. Most importantly for the collector record, this watercolor is the singular original used to produce a limited edition of 250 numbered prints and 25 artist proofs. The original therefore offers both a one-of-a-kind artwork and a documented connection to a published Moss image without needing unsupported claims about rarity, demand, or future value.

Why Buy from Canada Goose Gallery

Canada Goose Gallery offers Tree With Nine Lives Painting as the original watercolor behind the published edition, currently in mint condition and accompanied by a Certificate of Authenticity. The Gallery also maintains related Moss cat works and original paintings, allowing collectors to place this piece within the broader context of her animal imagery.

Continue Exploring

Continue with:

• Tree of Cats 2 Painting
• Tree of Cats Artist Proof
• Meow 1 Painting
• Meow 1
• Meow 2
• Meow Set
• Buckley Moss Cat Collection
• P. Buckley Moss Original Paintings
• Animals & Companions
• Rare & Remarkable
• P. Buckley Moss FAQ
• Collections Hub

Natural next destinations.

🎨 Fun Fact:

The “nine lives” saying predates Shakespeare. John Heywood recorded it in an English proverb collection in 1546; Shakespeare later referenced a cat’s nine lives in Romeo and Juliet. That long history gives the title Tree With Nine Lives a genuine connection to centuries of feline folklore rather than merely a modern expression.

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🖼️ Collector’s Insight:

Moss makes the title part of the viewing experience: discovering the nine separate cats scattered from the roots to the upper branches turns the composition into a subtle visual game. The original also has a documented publishing relationship—the watercolor became a limited edition of 250 numbered prints and 25 artist proofs—giving collectors a clear connection between the unique source artwork and its later edition.

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 “Nine lives. Nine cats. One original.”

“Can you find all nine?”

“An old saying grows new branches.”

“Every branch holds another personality.”