Three original paintings by Bob Ross were auctioned for a total of more than $600,000 at a live sale in Los Angeles conducted by the auction house Bonhams. The works comprised “Winter’s Peace” (which fetched around $318,000), “Home in the Valley” (about $229,100), and “Cliffside” (about $114,800). All were created during episodes of his TV-series The Joy of Painting in 1993, and each sold well beyond their pre-auction estimates (which had been capped around $50,000).
These three sales are the first tranche of a broader plan: a total of 30 Ross paintings will be auctioned over time, in cities including Los Angeles, New York, London and Boston. The net proceeds are pledged to benefit public television stations in the U.S.—specifically those affiliated with American Public Television and PBS—many of which are facing funding shortfalls.
The impetus for the auction project stems from a substantial federal funding cut: Congress eliminated $1.1 billion allocated for public broadcasting, forcing many smaller and rural stations to scramble for alternate funding, reduce staffing, or raise emergency drives. The Ross auction is being framed as a creative way to help under-resourced stations continue licensing popular educational and cultural programs such as “America’s Test Kitchen,” “Julia Child’s French Chef Classics” and Ross’s own show’s rebroadcasts.
Beyond the financial context, the effort ties into Ross’s legacy: Ross became a public-television icon in the 1980s and ’90s, known for his calm teaching style, “happy little accidents”-philosophy, and bringing painting into many American homes. His body of work is now being used in service of the medium that helped make him popular, public television, with his company stating that there is “no more meaningful way” to share his art than by helping the mission of public broadcasting.
