An original Bob Ross painting has already soared into record territory in an auction by HBO talk show “Last Week Tonight with John Oliver,” with proceeds benefiting public media.
Bidding for the painting reached $900,000 Monday morning on 45 bids.
With more than a week remaining in the auction, that price has already smashed the record for a Ross painting, which was set just last week when "Home in the Valley" sold for $229,100. Ross painted that work in just 26 minutes.
Donated by Bob Ross Inc. for the auction, “Cabin at Sunset” was painted on-air during the second season of “The Joy of Painting” in 1987 and measures 18 inches by 24 inches without the frame.
According to host John Oliver, the program bid on a trio of Ross paintings last week. Those paintings, the first of 30 being auctioned to benefit public broadcasting, sold for a total of $661,900 at Bonhams, including the record price for "Home in the Valley."
“We actually bid on those paintings trying to win one so that we could re-auction it tonight to benefit public media,” Oliver said. “Sadly, those prices were outside of our budget.”
The auctions for Ross’ paintings follow Congress cutting $1.1 billion in allocated funding for public media. According to the Associated Press, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which helps fund PBS, NPR and more than 1,500 local radio and TV stations, announced in August it would take steps toward closing following funding cuts.
Other items up for auction from “Last Week Tonight” include a jockstrap worn by Russell Crowe in the film "Cinderella Man” and a trip to New York to meet Oliver.
Proceeds from the auctions will benefit the Public Media Bridge Fund, which “aims to secure local public media service across the country.”
According to the Public Media Company, 115 local stations serving 43 million Americans are likely to close by mid 2026.
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Ben Burrows is a reporter and editor for cllct, the premier company for collectible culture. He was previously the collectibles editor at Sports Illustrated. You can follow him on X and Instagram @benmburrows.