Bob Ross Paintings Raise Over $1 Million for Public TV After Funding Cuts
What To Know
- Three original Bob Ross paintings auctioned in January 2026 raised over $1 million for American Public Television.
- All proceeds from the sales will directly support U.S. public television stations, following significant federal funding cuts and the shutdown of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
- The enduring popularity of Bob Ross’s work continues to inspire and provide crucial financial support for public broadcasting, aligning with his legacy of uplifting viewers.
Bob Ross paintings raised over $1 million for public television after cuts to public broadcasting during President Donald Trump‘s second term in office.
On January 27, an auction in Massachusetts sold three original pieces by the Joy of Painting star, who died after a battle with lymphoma at 52 in 1995.
The first painting, titled Change of Seasons — which Ross created in a 1990 episode — sold for a whopping $787,900 according to a news release from the auction house Bonhams Skinner. This was 13 times higher than the high estimate for the piece.
A second painting, 1993’s Babbling Brook, brought in $279,900, which was six times more than the estimated high value. Meanwhile, the third Ross painting, 1990’s Valley View, sold for $203,700, which was more than four times its high estimate.
The three paintings were sold on behalf of American Public Television, which “will pledge 100% of the net proceeds to support public television stations in the U.S,” per the news release.
In November 2025, three other Ross paintings —Winter’s Peace, Home in the Valley, and Cliffside — sold for a combined $662,000 in Los Angeles. Those proceeds will also fund public TV.
“I’m deeply humbled by today’s extraordinary results,” Joan Kowalski, president of Bob Ross Inc., said in a statement after the latest auction batch. “To see Bob’s paintings resonate so powerfully reminds me that his work continues to bring joy and meaning to people’s lives. I’m hopeful that Bob’s work can provide meaningful support to stations nationwide. It’s exactly what Bob would have wanted — to continue inspiring and uplifting public television for generations to come.”
In July 2025. Trump signed a bill canceling $1.1 billion for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB), which funded the Public Broadcasting Service and National Public Radio. In January, the CPB voted to shut down. Patricia Harrison, the president and CEO of CPB, explained the move was to “protect the integrity of the public media system and the democratic values by dissolving rather than allowing the organization to remain defunded and vulnerable to additional attacks.”
The Joy of Painting aired for 31 seasons on PBS from 1983 to 1994.