Bob Ross Paintings to Hit Auction Block for Public TV Stations
Thirty paintings by the late, great Bob Ross are set to hit the auction block to raise funds for public television stations facing federal funding cuts. The auctions, estimated to be worth between $850,000 and $1.4 million, will see all profits go towards helping stations with licensing fees.
The paintings, which span Ross' career, will be auctioned off in various locations including Los Angeles, London, New York, Boston, and online. Bonhams, the auction house that sold two of Ross' paintings for $114,800 and $95,750 in August, will handle the November 11 auction in Los Angeles. The remaining 27 paintings will be offered at unnamed auction houses after this initial sale.
Ross, a public television stalwart in the 1980s and '90s, was known for making art accessible to everyone through his show 'The Joy of Painting'. Each of the 30 paintings was created on-air in under 30 minutes, the span of a single episode. The works depict serene mountain vistas and lake scenes, reflecting Ross' signature aesthetic.
The auctions come at a time when public broadcasting is facing significant challenges. Congress has eliminated $1.1 billion allocated to public broadcasting, forcing some stations to lay off staff and make programming cuts. The sale of these paintings aims to provide much-needed support to stations using content from distributor American Public Television.
