Thirty paintings created by beloved artist Bob Ross will sell at auction later this year with profits benefiting small and rural public TV stations.
According to the Associated Press, three paintings will sell at Bonhams starting Nov. 11 in Los Angeles with additional auctions in London, New York, Boston and online at later dates. The AP reports profits are pledged to help stations pay for licensing fees that allow them to air shows such as Ross’ “The Best of Joy of Painting,” “America’s Test Kitchen” and “This Old House.”
AP also reports most of the 30 paintings were created on-air during Ross’ show in under 30 minutes each.
The auction of Ross’ paintings comes after Congress eliminated $1.1 billion in allocated funding, which has forced 330 PBS stations and 246 NPR stations to find additional funding.
Ross’ “The Joy of Painting” program ran on PBS from 1983 to 1994 but has since gained additional fanfare through reruns and streaming services. Though Ross is believed to have created tens of thousands of paintings prior to his death in 1995, his works are still highly coveted on the secondary market.
Bonhams has previously sold two Ross paintings from the early 1990s, including “Lake Below Snow-Capped Peaks and Cloudy Sky,” which sold for $114,800 in August to set a record for any Ross painting sold at public auction. That same auction at Bonhams also featured “Lake Below Snow-Covered Mountains and Clear Sky,” which sold for $95,750.
The auction house has placed an estimated collective total value of $850,000 to $1.4 million on the upcoming 30 paintings.
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.