It was no happy accident.
The first three of 30 Bob Ross paintings being auctioned to benefit American public television blew away estimates Tuesday, selling for a total of $661,900 at Bonhams in Los Angeles.
The pieces, entitled "Home in the Valley," "Winter's Peace" and "Cliffside," easily exceeded their auction house estimates. Bonhams suggested the pieces would go for anywhere in between a collective $85,000 and $145,000.
"We're thrilled with the results of this auction, which has surpassed our expectations," APT president and CEO Jim Dunford said in a statement. "These funds will help local stations continue to serve their communities with impactful programming. We're deeply grateful to Bob Ross, Inc. for shining a spotlight on the need to support public media, at this critical time."
In July, the Trump Administration cut more than $1 billion from the budget of the Corporation of Public Broadcasting, which finances PBS, NPR and more than 1,500 local public TV and radio stations.
Ross paintings are rare, but more have come to the market in recent years as the demand has increased. Ones painted on the show, which "Home In the Valley" and "Winter's Peace" were (between 1990 and 1993), sell for more.
Ross painted "Home in the Valley," which sold for $229,100, in 26 minutes.
Bonham's noted the bidding on Ross' paintings was more competitive than usual, generating more than twice the bidder registrations than similar art sales. It was just in August that Bonhams broke what was then the all-time record for a Ross painting, selling "Lake Below Snow-Capped Peaks and Cloudy Sky" for $114,800.
Ross' "The Joy Of Painting" was broadcast on public television from 1983-94. Although Ross died in 1995, his estate has actively licensed his brand, including the release of the "Joy of Baseball" sets with Topps in 2023 and 2025.
The original estimate for the value of the 30 total works was $850,000 to $1.4 million, but given the results of the first three, that estimate easily will be surpassed.
The rest of the 27 works will be sold in 2026, with another three going on sale at Bonhams on Jan. 27.
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Darren Rovell is the founder of cllct and one of the country's leading reporters on the collectibles market. He previously worked for ESPN, CNBC and The Action Network.