Paintings by Bob Ross, the celebrated TV artist, will be auctioned this November, with the profits going to support US TV stations facing cuts in funding.
Ross became a popular favourite with his painting instruction TV show: The Joy of Painting.
His easy manner, insistence that anyone could paint and enjoy making their own art, and the high-speed wet-on-wet painting technique he used made him a star.
Ross started painting while in the US Air Force in Alaska and developed under the tutelage of Bill Alexander, who also presented TV painting shows.
Ross eschewed haircuts for a while to save cash, and the curly, luxuriant result became another trademark, though the painter would have returned to his airforce-era crewcuts given the choice.
Ross’s own TV career started in 1982, and his series was taped – Ross was unpaid – until 1994 by a PBS (Public Broadcasting Service) station in Indiana.
The Trump administration has cut $1.1 billion from funding for public broadcasting. The Bob Ross sale at Bonhams is one attempt to meet this shortfall.
Ross’s painting Home in the Valley is very typical of his style that he first developed while serving in the Air Force in Alaska’s wildernesses. Image courtesy of Bonhams.
The auction series will open on November 11, with sales in London, New York, Boston, and online following.
There are 30 paintings for sale, most of them painted live on TV within the 30-minute run time of the Joy of Painting. The sale is expected to raise between $850,000 and $1.4 million according to estimates.
Ross’s paintings are by their nature not uncommon. But they are not often auctioned. Many are owned by Ross’s foundation.
An August 2025, Bonhams auctioned two works – classic Ross mountain lake scenes – realising $114,800 and $95,750.
Ross’s first ever TV painting, A Walk in the Woods, is owned by the main dealer in his work, with a $9.8 million asking price.
“With his market continuing to climb, proceeds benefiting American Public Television, and many of the paintings created live on air — a major draw for collectors — we expect spirited bidding and results that could surpass previous records,” Robin Starr, of Bonhams Skinner, told NPR in a statement.
