Rare Bob Ross Painting Is Up For Sale — At Nearly Ten Million Dollars
A piece of television history is on sale, and it’s going to be a happy little purchase for someone. Well, not so little. According to UPI, a signed painting made by Bob Ross for the very first episode (below) of his iconic show, The Joy of Painting, is currently up for sale at Modern Artifact, a gallery in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The asking price is a whopping $9.85 million.
The painting, a 24-inch by 18-inch oil on canvas titled “A Walk in the Woods,” has had only one owner. It’s a former PBS volunteer who was there when Ross painted it in 1983 and bought the picture at a benefit auction. The painting is being described by the gallery as the “most historically significant Bob Ross original painting ever created.” It’s hard to argue with that. Whoever buys the painting will also receive a written statement from the original owner.
Bob Ross began painting when he took an art class while stationed in Anchorage, Alaska with the U.S. Air Force. He served in the military from 1961 and 1981. Ross hosted The Joy of Painting on PBS from 1983 to 1994. Ross passed away a year later at the age of 52. Thanks to the internet, the instructional show, along with the artist’s gentle words of wisdom and encouragement, only grew in popularity after his death.
As with all of his TV artwork, Bob Ross painted “A Walk in the Woods” in under 30 minutes. It shows a stone path leading down to a pond and, yes, a happy little tree in the foreground. The painting is signed “Ross” in red on the lower left corner. Based on what others have paid for Bob Ross paintings in the 1980s, it’s possible that the current owner got this one for less than $100. It could turn out to be an amazing investment for them.
