Bonhams auction house will offer 30 original paintings by Joy of Painting host and American artist Bob Ross (1942-1995) in collaboration with American Public Television, throughout a series of sales beginning this month through 2026.
The first auction will take place on Tuesday, Nov. 11, in Los Angeles, which will feature three of Ross’ paintings, as part of Bonhams’ California & Western Art sale. The remaining 27 works will be offered in 2026 at Bonhams salerooms in New York, Boston, and Los Angeles. All works are being sold on behalf of American Public Television, which has pledged to direct 100% of its net proceeds to support APT and PBS public television stations nationwide.
Leading the trio of original Bob Ross paintings in the first sale is “Winter’s Peace,” painted in 1993 and estimated at $30,000 – 50,000. Created using Ross’s signature Wet-on-Wet Technique, the piece was painted entirely on-air, with no editing from start to finish, during the filming of the third episode of the 30th season of Ross’s Joy of Painting television series. Of particular note in this work are the vibrantly saturated colors, especially in the sky. Ross intentionally enhanced these hues when painting for television, ensuring they would appear especially vivid and appealing to viewers watching at home.
“Home in the Valley,” painted in 1993, is the second of Ross’s works to be featured in the auction. Also estimated at $30,000 – 50,000, this nostalgic landscape was also painted on-air, in which Ross spent only around 26 minutes on it, and again, without any editing. Since its creation, the painting remained in storage at the Bob Ross Company. Rounding out this first group of works to go on the block is “Cliffside,” painted in 1990 and estimated at $25,000 – 45,000. This painting was specifically created for Bob Ross’s The Joy of Painting Volume 20 instructional book. ❖