Three of Bob Ross’ paintings have sold for hundreds of thousands of dollars to help cover public broadcasting costs after the Trump administration cut funding.
According to Bonhams auction house, an unframed 24-by-18-inch painting titled "Cliffside" sold for $114,800. Two others — "Home in the Valley" and "Winter’s Peace" — sold for $229,100 and $318,000, respectively. The buyers’ names were not disclosed.
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A total of 30 Ross paintings are scheduled to go up for auction, with proceeds pledged to local stations that air programming distributed by American Public Television.
Ross became a public-television icon in the 1980s and 1990s as host of The Joy of Painting, a half-hour instructional program on PBS. He never charged the network for the show and didn’t earn money directly from it, but his calm, encouraging style helped build a devoted following that fueled his other ventures, including Bob Ross Inc. and its line of art supplies.
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Earlier this year, Congress rescinded $1.1 billion in federal funding for public broadcasting after President Trump accused it of being part of the “biased media.” PBS President Paula Kerger told Scripps News in July that some stations could face closure without replacement funding.
