Patricia Buckley Moss was born in the Richmond Borough of New York City. In grade school, young Patricia was perceived as a poor student, most likely due to dyslexia which is a generally misunderstood reading and perceptional disorder. Nonetheless, one of her teachers determined that this little girl who was "Not Proficient In Anything" was artistically gifted. This outside opinion helped to convince Pat's mother to enroll her daughter in the Washington Irving High School for the Fine Arts, an extraordinary public school for girls in downtown Manhattan. It was there that 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 where she studied for four years and specialized in fine arts and graphic design. Soon after leaving school she married Jack Moss, a chemical engineer.  Five children later and with a sixth one on the way, Jack and Pat moved to Waynesboro in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia where Pat came to appreciate the quiet beauty of rural scenery and to know the picturesque and deeply religious Amish and Mennonite "plain" people. Soon, she was incorporating these new elements into her art, creating an impetus that revitalized her artistic career and reignited her ambitions.  After a highly successful one-person museum exhibition in 1967, Pat began to seriously market her work.  Today, thousands of collectors in the United States, Europe, and Japan have come to recognize, appreciate, and treasure Pat Moss' art with its distinctive look and its great popular appeal. Although she now 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 is asked to speak to special education classes. Donations of her original works and prints to related children's charities have raised millions of dollars for their causes.  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 Moss 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 Pat’s 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."

 Producer's Note: this biography has been taken from Ms. Moss's website and edited with her approval.