Peaceful landscapes, and happy little trees- these are the works of Bob Ross, and they’re about to be sold at auction. Beginning next month, 30 original Bob Ross paintings will be auctioned by Bonhams, an auction house. The sale will raise funds for U.S. public television stations, many of which are in financial peril following the Trump administration’s elimination of $1.1 billion in federal public media funding.
Bonhams’ president of paintings and photographs, Don Bull gathered 30 paintings from Ross’s estate and will help choose which paintings to feature each month. Auctioneer’s expect the November and December sales will generate intense competition from collectors thanks to the charitable goal of the event and Ross’s meme-ablity and iconic resurgence in recent years. Ross paintings are expected to sell for a total of $850,000 to $1.4 million.
Bob Ross became famous on his own iconic half-hour instructional painting show, which first aired in 1983 and continued for 11 seasons until his death in 1995 at age 52. Ross’ dulcet tones, soothing meditations, and “wet-on-wet” technique made painting approachable for millions. He crooned softly to “happy little accidents,” and he took obvious delight in coaxing placid mountain ranges and serene lakes into being. He was, to many, both a fellow painter and a gentle viewer-partner.
The 30 paintings include 27 paintings that Ross did while on the show, many of them done live while filming episodes of The Joy of Painting. The paintings will be seen for the first time by the public since they were originally taped. These are typical Ross: snow-topped mountains, gentle waterfalls, calm lakes, and as noted above, those “happy little trees.” The first three paintings will be auctioned on November 11 in Los Angeles, while the remaining 27 will be auctioned in the following year in Bonhams’ galleries in New York, Boston, and Los Angeles.
PBS, whose revenues have declined in recent years due to a general decline in interest in televised programming and streaming platforms, said that it would have to let go of 15% of its employees, while local TV and radio stations, particularly in rural areas, face extinction. Public television programming at risk includes The Best of the Joy of Painting, but also America’s Test Kitchen, Rick Steves’ Europe, Julia Child’s French Chef Classics, and others if stations can’t afford the licensing fees for the shows. Ross auction proceeds will help make up for the lost revenues, and allow stations to continue offering public television content, or to divert money to other at-risk local stations and content producers.
Last month, demonstrators in Chicago donned Bob Ross afro wigs and painted Bob Ross shirts while rallying to restore public media funding. In that light, the auction is a salute to an artist who thought all people had creative potential, and it’s a one way for the very public media that made his philosophy famous. If there’s one thing the country needs more of right now, it’s trusted information, educational outlets, and accessible art.