A contented circumstance: Bob Ross work promote for greater than $600K to assist public TV stations

LOS ANGELES — Three work from famously chill public tv legend Bob Ross offered Tuesday for greater than $600,000 at public sale. The work have been the primary of 30 Ross works being offered to learn public TV stations damage by cuts in federal funding.

At the dwell public sale at Bonhams in Los Angeles, a serene, snow vista referred to as “Winter’s Peace” that Ross painted totally throughout a 1993 episode of “The Joy of Painting” went for $318,000 to a bidder on the cellphone.

“For a good cause — and you get the painting,” auctioneer Aaron Bastian mentioned in the course of the bidding. He invoked a standard sentiment of Ross, who died in 1995, throughout a short lull. “Bob would remind you that this is your world, and you can do anything you want.”

Another portray achieved on a 1993 episode, a lush, inexperienced panorama referred to as “Home in the Valley,” went for $229,100. A 3rd, “Cliffside,” offered for $114,800.

The closing costs embrace a cost for the public sale home added to the ultimate bid generally known as the client’s premium. The identities of the patrons weren’t instantly revealed.

Bids for all three work went properly previous pre-auction estimates of their worth, which topped out round $50,000.

Three extra Ross work will likely be up for public sale at Bonhams in Marlborough, Massachusetts, on Jan. 27, with others to observe, together with one in New York.

All earnings are pledged to stations that use content material from distributor American Public Television.

Ross, a public tv staple within the Nineteen Eighties and ’90s, was identified for his dome of hair and heat demeanor.

The particular gross sales search to assist stations in want of licensing charges that enable them to indicate well-liked packages that together with Ross’ present embrace “America’s Test Kitchen,” “Julia Child’s French Chef Classics,” and “This Old House.” Small and rural stations are significantly challenged.

The stations “have been the gateway for generations of viewers to discover not just Bob’s gentle teaching, but the transformative power of the arts,” Joan Kowalski, president of Bob Ross Inc., mentioned in an announcement.

As sought by the Trump Administration, Congress has eradicated $1.1 billion allotted to public broadcasting, leaving about 330 PBS and 246 NPR stations.

Ross died at age 52 of problems from most cancers after 11 years in manufacturing with the therapeutic how-to present, “The Joy of Painting.” The former Air Force drill sergeant was a type of pioneer, identified for his calm — and calming — method and inspiring phrases.

Ross spoke usually as he labored on air about portray pleased little clouds and timber, and making no errors, solely “happy accidents.”

He has solely grew to become extra well-liked within the a long time since his dying, and his reveals noticed a surge in recognition in the course of the lockdowns of the COVID-19 pandemic.

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This story was first revealed on Nov. 11, 2025. It was up to date on Nov. 12, 2025, to right that an public sale of Ross work in London is now not deliberate.