Description

Wishing Tree by P. Buckley Moss

Introduction

Wishing Tree by P. Buckley Moss is a 2010 limited, numbered Fine Art Print that brings together Christmas, childhood, and the mischievous personality of cats. A young girl in a rosy pink dress sits before a tall green Christmas tree, looking upward with her hands raised toward the branches. Instead of conventional ornaments, black cats climb, perch, stretch, and curl throughout the tree.

The simplicity of the setting makes the relationship between child, cats, and tree unmistakable. Against the open white background, the green evergreen, black silhouettes, and warm pink dress create a compact composition with humor, curiosity, and an appealing sense of discovery. Canada Goose Gallery’s approved inventory identifies Wishing Tree as Product ID 8506, dated 2010, currently priced at $60, with Animal, Cat, Children, and Christmas classifications.

Story Behind the Artwork

The title Wishing Tree encourages us to look beyond a conventional Christmas-tree scene. The little girl sits quietly before the evergreen as the cats turn its branches into their own playground. Her raised hands and upward gaze can suggest expectation, amazement, or simply fascination with what she sees.

Moss does not need presents, a decorated room, or a large family gathering to establish the holiday story. Instead, the child’s attention becomes the viewer’s attention. We begin following the cats from branch to branch, noticing how many different poses and personalities are hidden within the tree.

That sense of discovery gives the artwork much of its charm. Interpretations involving wishes, imagination, and childhood wonder are suggested by the title and imagery rather than documented statements of Moss’s intention.

Symbols & Meaning

The Christmas tree anchors the seasonal story, while the child introduces wonder and curiosity. The cats transform an otherwise familiar holiday symbol into something unexpected and humorous.

Because black cats carry many different cultural associations, no particular folklore or symbolic meaning should be imposed on them here. Visually, their strongest role is personality and movement: their dark silhouettes create a lively pattern through the branches and contrast sharply with the softer washes of green.

The girl’s pink dress introduces warmth and tenderness without competing with the tree, making her response to the scene as important as the animals themselves.

Artistic Details

Wishing Tree is especially effective because Moss builds movement upward. The girl’s rounded seated figure creates a stable base at lower left, while the evergreen rises vertically beside her. The viewer’s eye then travels along the black trunk and curling branches to discover cats at different heights.

The black cats function almost like animated ornaments. Some perch along branches; others appear to climb or stretch, creating an irregular rhythm that keeps the tree from becoming static.

Color is restrained. Green dominates the tree, black defines the cats and linear structure, and rose-pink establishes the child as the secondary focal point. The broad white background gives every gesture and silhouette unusual clarity.

Featured Master Collections

Primary Master Collection: Christmas Traditions

This assignment is definitive. Wishing Tree appears by name on Canada Goose Gallery’s curator-approved Christmas Traditions list. The Collection is devoted to “the sights, sounds, and memories that return every holiday season,” with Christmas trees and children among its core subjects.

Supporting Master Collection: Animals & Companions

The cats are too important to the composition to treat them as incidental details. Animals & Companions specifically includes cats, pets, companion animals, and animal friendships among its subjects. This gives Wishing Tree a particularly useful crossover between Christmas collectors and cat lovers.

I would not add a third Master Collection. Childhood is important to the image, but Christmas and cats provide the two clearest collector stories.

Decorating Ideas

The nearly square format and open white background make Wishing Tree easy to incorporate into a Christmas gallery wall, family room, child’s room, hallway, or a holiday display created especially for a cat-loving household.

Its palette also offers an alternative to conventional Christmas red. The bright green tree and rose-pink dress can work naturally with whimsical, cottage, traditional, or collected Christmas décor.

For a particularly cohesive arrangement, pair it with other Moss Christmas works involving cats, children, or unusual interpretations of the Christmas tree.

Gift Ideas

Wishing Tree is an especially natural gift for a cat lover who also decorates with Christmas art. It may also appeal to parents, grandparents, families with young children, and collectors who enjoy Moss’s playful animal imagery.

Because the child is engaged with the tree rather than simply posing beside it, the artwork can also make a meaningful Christmas gift for someone who values imagination and the small surprises that become part of family holiday memories.

About the Edition

Wishing Tree is supplied as a 2010 limited, numbered giclée Fine Art Print.

Numbered edition: 250
Artist’s proofs: 15
Image size: 7-3/16 × 6-5/16 inches
Condition: New, Mint
Certificate of Authenticity: Included
Current CGG price: $60

Canada Goose Gallery’s approved inventory independently verifies Product ID 8506, the 2010 date, current $60 price, and Animal, Cat, Children, and Christmas classifications.

🌳✨ Fun Fact:

The idea of giving wishes to a tree has a fascinating modern counterpart at the Smithsonian’s Hirshhorn Museum, where Yoko Ono’s Wish Tree for Washington, DC invites visitors to write wishes on paper tags and tie them to a living tree. Ono traced the idea to a childhood memory in Japan of people tying written wishes to trees in temple courtyards. The Hirshhorn has collected tens of thousands of these wishes, which become part of her larger peace project. This history concerns the broader idea of a “wishing tree” and is not presented as a documented influence on P. Buckley Moss or this artwork.

---

🖼️ Collector’s Insight:

Wishing Tree stands apart because the cats are not secondary pets placed beside a Christmas scene—they effectively become the decorations and personality of the tree itself. Their black silhouettes lead the eye upward through the green branches, while the seated girl’s pink dress creates a warm counterpoint below. For collectors, that makes the artwork a particularly strong crossover between Moss’s Christmas imagery and her cat subjects, with the child’s quiet fascination providing the emotional center rather than Santa, presents, or a traditional family gathering.

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. Wishing Tree is represented in the gallery’s approved inventory at $60 and is offered in New, Mint condition with a Certificate of Authenticity.

Continue Exploring

For Wishing Tree, I would give collectors two strong paths: Christmas with cats and playful Christmas storytelling.

Currently documented Canada Goose Gallery inventory includes:

• Cat Family Christmas at $100, a 2020 giclée categorized under Cat and Christmas
• Our Purrfect Tree at $50, also categorized under Cat and Christmas. These are especially strong companions because they preserve the feline/holiday crossover that distinguishes Wishing Tree.

Additional currently documented choices include:

• A Special Guest — $90
• Toy Tester — $60
• Kiss Me Kris — $50
• A Flurry of Love — $45
• A Frosty Family Christmas — $125
• Kringle’s Pal — $50.

Several of these, along with Wishing Tree, are also part of the curator-approved Christmas Traditions framework.

Suggested Categories & Subjects:

• P. Buckley Moss Fine Art Prints
• The Collections Hub
• P. Buckley Moss FAQ/Certificate of Authenticity
• Christmas
• Cats
• Children
• Animals

---

“The cats found the tree first.”