With recent federal funding cuts to public media, the estate of late painter Bob Ross is fighting to save the platforms that championed his work.
Bob Ross Inc. is auctioning 30 paintings by the beloved television personality, many of which were created on-air before he died at age 52 in 1995, using the profits to offset costs of programming for public television stations amid defunding.
Noting that Ross “dedicated his life to making art accessible to everyone,” his former business partner and current Bob Ross Inc. president Joan Kowalski told the Associated Press, “This auction ensures his legacy continues to support the very medium that brought his joy and creativity into American homes for decades.”
Three of Ross’ paintings will be up for auction on Nov. 11 at Bonhams in Los Angeles, with more to follow in London, New York, Boston and online. Profits are pledged to American Public Television stations to assist with licensing fees that allow them to show pipular programs.
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Bonhams estimates the total value of the upcoming haul at between $850,000 and $1.4 million.
In July, the House cleared Trump’s set of spending cuts to rescind $1.1 billion from public media, despite warnings that the funding rollbacks will devastate the PBS, NPR and public station ecosystem.
Since the legislation passed, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting shut down, and PBS has cut its budget by 21%, laying off 34 staffers last month. PBS CEO Paula Kerger has expressed hope that federal funding will be restored next fiscal year.
Ross was an American painting instructor who created and hosted the instructional program The Joy of Painting, which ran from 1983 to 1994 on PBS. He created about 30,000 paintings in his lifetime.