Bob Ross Paintings Set Records and Raise Funds
Winter’s Peace, painted by Bob Ross on-air on The Joy of Painting in 1993, set a new artist record with a sale price of $318,000.
Bob Ross paintings are having a major auction moment. The signature serene landscapes by the iconic host of The Joy of Painting are smashing estimates and selling for record prices. The latest took place at Bonhams in Los Angles on November 11, where three paintings by Ross sold in the “California and Western Art” auction. Together, the three works sold for $662,000, with the highest selling for $318,000, setting a new global auction record for Bob Ross.
The new record was set by Winter’s Peace, a scene with the sun rising or setting in a vibrant multicolor sky over a peaceful snowy landscape with a tiny cabin and, of course, Ross’s famous “happy little trees.” The painting was made on-air in 1993 during the third episode of season 30. Ross painted Home in the Valley, a daytime scene with a house at the edge of a calm turquoise blue lake, which sold for $229,110, the same year. Cliffside, with waves crashing against cliffs while clouds turn violet in a striking yellow-orange sky, sold for $114,800. Ross painted it in 1990 for his Joy of Painting Volume 20 instructional book. A print of this painting appears on page 35.
Cliffside, painted by Bob Ross in 1990 for his Joy of Painting book, sold for $114,800.
All three paintings came from Bob Ross, Inc., which provided Certificates of Authenticity to accompany them. The proceeds will be donated to American Public Television and PBS member stations across the U.S.
Joan Kowalski is president of Bob Ross, Inc., which her parents founded after her mother took an art class taught by Ross. The company owns many of Ross’s original paintings and stores them in a warehouse in northern Virginia. Kowalski decided to sell 30 of the paintings, something she had never considered before, to raise money for public television after Congress voted in July to rescind $1.1 billion in federal funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
Home in the Valley, painted in 1993, sold for $229,110. Proceeds from the Bob Ross paintings were donated to support public television.
Bonhams is collaborating with American Public Television to sell the paintings. The November 11 auction is the first in a series that will continue into 2026, with the next auction being the American Art & Americana sale on January 27. All proceeds will help public television stations pay the licensing fees required to air beloved instructional shows like The Joy of Painting, This Old House, and America’s Test Kitchen. Kowalski believes that Ross, who loved teaching as much as he loved painting, would approve.
Certainly Jim Dunford, President and CEO of American Public Television, is “thrilled with the results,” and Robin Starr, General Manager of Bonhams Skinner, is “delighted,” according to a press release from Bonhams.
Images courtesy of Bonhams.
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