Recommendations of the Editorial team
Three paintings by the late artist Bob Ross — who taught art nationally for more than a decade in the 1980s and early 1990s on the PBS TV series “The Joy of Painting” — were sold following massive federal funding cuts by the Trump administration sold for a total of $1.27 million to benefit public television.
Record sale at Bonhams Skinner
Auction house Bonhams Skinner announced the news on January 28th. It said Ross’ 1990 oil painting “Change of Seasons” significantly exceeded its estimate of $60,000, achieving the top price of $787,900.
The image, taken during the 20th season of the TV series, shows autumnal trees framing snow-capped mountains in the background. It was described by Ross himself as “just a beautiful little painting.”
Ross’s two other landscape paintings, “Valley View” (1990) and “Babbling Brook” (1993), achieved prices of $203,700 and $279,900 respectively. They also exceeded their preliminary estimates.
More than half of the auction proceeds
Together, the three works accounted for more than half of the total auction proceeds of $2.4 million at the Bonhams-Skinner auction “Americana: Crafting a Nation: Art, History & Legacy,” held in Marlborough, Massachusetts.
“Seeing Bob’s paintings resonate so powerfully reminds me that his work continues to bring joy and meaning to people’s lives,” Joan Kowalski, president of Bob Ross Inc., said in a statement.
Support for broadcasters across the country
“I hope that Bob’s work can provide tangible support to broadcasters nationwide. It is exactly what Bob would have wanted: to continue to inspire and strengthen public television for generations to come,” continued Kowalski.
American Public Television (APT), a nonprofit syndicator of television programming, provided the Ross paintings. It agreed to distribute 100 percent of net proceeds to public television stations in the United States.
Background to the cuts
A new collection by the popular artist will be offered at a Bonhams Skinner auction in New York in April. In July, President Donald Trump signed a law that cut $1.1 billion in congressional funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
This organization directs federal funds to NPR and PBS, with the majority of funds used to support more than 1,500 local public radio and television stations across the country.
