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From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it’s investigating the financials of Elon Musk’s pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, ‘The A Word’, which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.<\/p>\n
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.<\/p>\n
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.<\/p>\n
Your support makes all the difference.<\/strong><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\nRead more<\/span><\/svg><\/span><\/button><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/aside>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\nThree original paintings by beloved TV artist Bob Ross sold for more than $600,000 at auction to benefit public broadcasting after stations were decimated by the Trump administration\u2019s funding cuts. <\/p>\n
\u201cWinter\u2019s Peace\u201d – a calming, snowy scene painted entirely during a 1993 episode of Ross\u2019 show \u201cThe Joy of Painting\u201d – was sold for $318,000. <\/p>\n
A bright green landscape, \u201cHome in the Valley,\u201d also made during a 1993 episode, sold for $229,100. The third painting, \u201cCliffside,\u201d sold for $114,800. <\/p>\n
\u201cFor a good cause \u2014 and you get the painting,\u201d auctioneer Aaron Bastian said, channeling the exuberant energy of Ross, who died in 1995 at age 52. \u201cBob would remind you that this is your world, and you can do anything you want.\u201d <\/p>\n
Bonhams announced the sales of the artworks Tuesday. The auction house will host similar public sales of Ross\u2019s works in Boston, New York and Los Angeles next year to benefit stations that use content from distributor American Public Television. <\/p>\n
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open image in gallery<\/span><\/button><\/p>\n<\/div>Three paintings by iconic TV painter Bob Ross sold at an auction for $600,000 total. The sale is part of an effort to make up for funding cut from public broadcasting by the Trump administration (AP)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n
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open image in gallery<\/span><\/button><\/p>\n<\/div>\u201cWinter\u2019s Peace,\u201d a snowy scene painted entirely during a 1993 episode of Ross\u2019 show \u201cThe Joy of Painting \u201d was sold for $318,000. (Bonhams)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\nThe donation would help programs, including \u201cAmerica\u2019s Test Kitchen,\u201d \u201cJulia Child\u2019s French Chef Classics,\u201d \u201cThis Old House,\u201d and \u201cThe Best of Joy of Painting,\u201d which is based on Ross\u2019 show.<\/p>\n
The stations \u201chave been the gateway for generations of viewers to discover not just Bob\u2019s gentle teaching, but the transformative power of the arts,\u201d Joan Kowalski, the president of Bob Ross Inc., said in a statement. <\/p>\n
The auction comes after President Donald Trump directed Congress to slash $1.1 billion budgeted for public broadcasting, leaving approximately 330 PBS and 246 National Public Radio stations scrambling to find other sources of funding.<\/p>\n
As a result, some of these television and radio stations have been forced to lay off staff and make programming cuts.<\/p>\n
Kowalski came up with the idea for the auction to help make up for some of the lost funding. All three paintings were sold Tuesday for much more than their pre-auction estimates of about $50,000 each. The identities of the buyers were not immediately known. <\/p>\n
Ross became an adored pop culture icon, hosting \u201cThe Joy of Painting\u201d on PBS from 1983 to 1994 with the mission of making art accessible to all Americans. With his soft-spoken voice and calming personality, Ross encouraged others to pick up a brush \u2013 often referring to erroneous paint strokes as \u201chappy accidents.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u200b\u200bThe beloved host, who used his television show to promote his line of art supplies and class recordings, ended up building a $15 million business, Bob Ross Inc., which has continued his legacy today even after his death. <\/p>\n
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open image in gallery<\/span><\/button><\/p>\n<\/div>\u201cHome in the Valley\u201d sold during Tuesday\u2019s auction for $229,100 (Bonhams)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n
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open image in gallery<\/span><\/button><\/p>\n<\/div>Ross\u2019s \u201cCliffside\u201d sold for $114,800 in auction (Bonhams)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\nRoss\u2019s show gained a new life during the COVID-19 pandemic, as people across the globe took comfort in his warm presence during a time of isolation and lockdowns.<\/p>\n
The 30 paintings set to be auctioned off span Ross\u2019s entire career. They include landscapes of beautiful mountain vistas and lakes, painted with his signature flair. Most of the paintings were created on-air, in less than 30 minutes \u2013 the length of an episode.<\/p>\n
Bonhams, the auction house selling Ross\u2019s paintings, sold two early 1990s mountain and lake scenes made by Ross in August for $114,800 and $95,750.<\/p>\n
Some of the work featured in the upcoming auction is estimated to be valued between $850,000 and $1.4 million, according to Bonhams.<\/p>\n
With reporting from the Associated Press<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Your support helps us to tell the story From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it’s investigating the financials of Elon Musk’s pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, ‘The A Word’, which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging. At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story. The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it. Your support makes all the difference. Read more Three original paintings by beloved TV artist Bob Ross sold for more than $600,000 at auction to benefit public broadcasting after stations were decimated by the Trump administration\u2019s funding cuts. \u201cWinter\u2019s Peace\u201d – a calming, snowy scene painted entirely during a 1993 episode of Ross\u2019 show \u201cThe Joy of Painting\u201d – was sold for $318,000. A bright green landscape, \u201cHome in the Valley,\u201d also made during a 1993 episode, sold for $229,100. The third painting, \u201cCliffside,\u201d sold for $114,800. \u201cFor a good cause \u2014 and you get the painting,\u201d auctioneer Aaron Bastian said, channeling the exuberant energy of Ross, who died in 1995 at age 52. \u201cBob would remind you that this is your world, and you can do anything you want.\u201d Bonhams announced the sales of the artworks Tuesday. The auction house will host similar public sales of Ross\u2019s works in Boston, New York and Los Angeles next year to benefit stations that use content from distributor American Public Television. open image in gallery Three paintings by iconic TV p…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":8428,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[2],"tags":[],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.seekyourlove.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8427"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.seekyourlove.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.seekyourlove.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.seekyourlove.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.seekyourlove.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=8427"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.seekyourlove.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8427\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.seekyourlove.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/8428"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.seekyourlove.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=8427"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.seekyourlove.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=8427"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.seekyourlove.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=8427"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}