Through her art, internationally recognized artist and Virginia resident, P. (Pat) Buckley Moss has been able to overcome a life-long learning disability and achieve incredible success as a renown artist. As a young child living in New York City, Pat was perceived as a poor student which in today’s society would have been attributed to dyslexia. One of her teachers realized that this little girl who was "not proficient in anything" was artistically gifted. This outside opinion helped to convince Pat's mother to enroll Pat in an extraordinary public school for girls in downtown Manhattan: the Washington Irving High School for the Fine Arts. In that friendly learning environment, Pat's artistic abilities were finally encouraged and seriously nourished.

In 1951 Pat received a scholarship to New York's Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art. She studied at this prestigious art school for four years and specialized in fine arts and graphic design. Soon after leaving school she married Jack Moss, a chemical engineer.

In 1964, Pat's husband's work took the family, to Waynesboro, Virginia where Pat learned to appreciate the quiet beauty of rural scenery and to know the picturesque and deeply religious Amish and Mennonite "plain" people. She began incorporating these new elements into her art creating an impetus that revitalized her artistic career and reignited her ambitions.

In 1967 she won her first major art show prize, a one-person museum exhibition. This exhibition was a "sellout,” and the success encouraged her to start seriously marketing her work. The style and genuine warmth of her subject matter quickly won her wide spread recognition.

Thousands of collectors in the U.S. and abroad have come to recognize, appreciate, and treasure Pat Moss' art with its distinctive look and its great popular appeal. Although she enjoys tremendous artistic success, Pat has become almost equally well-known for her dedicated work with special education groups and her generous donations to children-related charities.

Pat has become a role model for the learning impaired and frequently speaks to special education classes. Donations of Moss' original works and prints to related children's charities have raised millions of dollars for their causes. In 1987, the P. Buckley Moss Society was established by a few zealous collectors to assist the artist and her husband in all of their charitable endeavors. This Society now has 38 active chapters and a membership of approximately 15,000 members. She is both the Society's inspiration and its "battle cry" as it spreads the artist's messages of concern and optimism for what might otherwise be forgotten and misunderstood children and adults.

In 1989 the P. Buckley Moss Museum opened in Waynesboro, Virginia. Its mission is to permanently record and illuminate the Moss phenomenon through educational exhibitions, lectures, permanent collections and archival files. On December 30, 2009, the Museum welcomed its 600,000th visitor! It has become a place for people to "rediscover" some of the traditional meanings and potential consequences of art. Pat Moss' story is told and illustrated over and over in the Museum's main gallery, as visitors are exposed to some of the best examples of her artistic creativity.

In 1995 the P. Buckley Moss Foundation for Children's Education was formed to help children with learning disabilities to succeed in school and in life. The Foundation encourages the use of the visual and performing arts in all educational programs, but especially those involving children who learn differently.

In her art and in her life, Pat seems to "speak" a language that ordinary folks are able to understand. Talent, determination, intelligibility, a little luck, and lots of caring are all parts of the Moss phenomenon. These are the attributes that constitute Moss' life and fill her art. For many who know her work and are familiar with her life and her upbeat philosophy, she truly is "THE PEOPLE'S ARTIST.”

The Atack Family Gift Shop at The Cultural Arts Center at Glen Allen will be stocked a variety of P. Buckley Moss prints in addition to a variety of gift items including note cards, jewelry and porcelain boxes.

P. Buckley Moss Luncheon - March 4