2025 SESSION

INTRODUCED

25101590D

HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 495

Offered January 15, 2025

Celebrating the life of Patricia Buckley Moss.

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Patrons—Campbell, Coyner, Hope, Obenshain, Rasoul and Ware; Senator: Head

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WHEREAS, Patricia Buckley Moss, an acclaimed artist and philanthropist and beloved member of the Waynesboro and Mathews County communities, died on July 13, 2024; and

WHEREAS, born in Staten Island, New York, Patricia “P.” Buckley Moss overcame dyslexia to excel at art from a young age, later graduating from the Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art; and

WHEREAS, while raising a young family in the 1960s, P. Buckley Moss relocated to Waynesboro, a move that would have a profound and lasting impact on her oeuvre and approach to art; and

WHEREAS, P. Buckley Moss's unique body of work, which is best known for its emphasis on rural landscapes and settings and other scenes evoking a nostalgia for the American countryside, has been featured in many prestigious galleries and museums around the world over the years; and

WHEREAS, P. Buckley Moss often included members of Virginia's Amish and Mennonite communities in her work, creating a window into their way of life that captured the beauty and power of their faith; and

WHEREAS, P. Buckley Moss's philanthropic efforts led to the creation of the P. Buckley Moss Society in 1987, which today counts nearly 50,000 members, and the P. Buckley Moss Foundation for Children's Education in 1995, which is dedicated to supporting children with learning differences and integrating art education into school curricula; and

WHEREAS, P. Buckley Moss earned an array of distinguished accolades over her lifetime for her achievements in both art and philanthropy; most recently, the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University named its new arts center the Moss Arts Center in her honor in 2013 and the Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art presented her with its inaugural Peter Cooper Public Service Award in 2014; and

WHEREAS, preceded in death by her first husband, John, and her son John, P. Buckley Moss will be fondly remembered and dearly missed by her children, Mary, Rebecca, Patricia, Virginia, and Christopher, and their families and by numerous other family members and friends; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED by the House of Delegates, the Senate concurring, That the General Assembly hereby note with great sadness the loss of Patricia Buckley Moss, an artist and philanthropist whose legacy both on the canvas and in the community will inspire others for generations to come; and, be it

RESOLVED FURTHER, That the Clerk of the House of Delegates prepare a copy of this resolution for presentation to the family of Patricia Buckley Moss as an expression of the General Assembly's respect for her memory.