State & Regional

Bob Ross paintings sell for $600K to help public media funding cuts

KPCW | By Sydney Weaver

Published November 13, 2025 at 4:22 PM MST

FILE: "A Walk in the Woods," the first painting Bob Ross produced for hic iconic show “The Joy of Painting,” sits on display at the home of Modern Artifact owner Ryan Nelson, Tuesday, Sept. 19, 2023, in Wayzata, Minn. — "A Walk in the Woods," the first painting Bob Ross produced for hic iconic show “The Joy of Painting,” sits on display at the home of Modern Artifact owner Ryan Nelson, Tuesday, Sept. 19, 2023, in Wayzata, Minn. Ross was known for his unpretentious approach to painting on his long-running show, “The Joy of Painting,” but now the painting he completed on his first show in 1983 is for sale for nearly $10 million. Minneapolis gallery owner Ryan Nelson calls it the "rookie card" for Ross.

The paintings are the first of 30 Ross works to be auctioned to help support public television after federal funding cuts earlier this year.

Three paintings from TV art legend Bob Ross sold this week for more than $600,000. Bids for the three paintings went well past the pre-auction estimates of around $50,000.

The Associated Press reports one of the paintings fetched $318,000 during the live auction in Los Angeles.

It was a serene, snow vista called “Winter’s Peace.” Ross painted it on a 1993 episode of “The Joy of Painting.”

The second 1993 painting, a lush landscape called “Home in the Valley,” went for almost $230,000. The third, titled “Cliffside,” sold for just under $115.000.

Three more Ross paintings will be up for auction in Massachusetts on Jan. 27.

More opportunities to purchase Ross works will follow, including one in New York.

All profits are pledged to help cover funding gaps for American Public Television stations.