Bob Ross Painting Heads To German Auction For US Public TV Benefit

(MENAFN- USA Art News) A Bob Ross painting will be offered at auction in Germany for the first time, with proceeds benefiting American Public Television (APT). The work, titled Mountain Splendor ( 1986 ), will hit the block on December 5 at Ketterer Kunst in Munich.

The sale is part of a charitable initiative conceived by Joan Kowalski, president of Bob Ross, Inc., to support US public television stations. This effort follows $9 billion in cuts to previously approved government funding by a Republican-dominated Congress during Donald Trump's presidential administration. The painting bears an estimate of €40,000–€60,000 ($46,800–$70,200).

Ross created Mountain Splendor live on television during season seven, episode eight of his acclaimed show, The Joy of Painting. According to the auctioneer, Ross typically produced three versions of his compositions, with the live-painted ones being the most sought-after. This particular canvas has been in storage for decades and is described by Ketterer Kunst as being in“exceptionally well-preserved condition.” The painting will be exhibited at the house's showrooms in Frankfurt, Cologne, Hamburg, Berlin, and Munich from November 8 to December 4.

Robert Ketterer, owner and auctioneer, highlighted the significance of the event, stating:

Ross's works have achieved significant prices, including a sale for as much as $1 million last year when comedian John Oliver sold Cabin at Sunset at a benefit auction. On Artnet's price database, Ross's public auction record stands at $787,900 for the 1990 painting Change of Seasons, sold at Bonhams Skinner in January against a $60,000 high estimate. That night, Bonhams raised approximately $1.3 million for APT through the sale of three Ross paintings, with the record-setting piece fetching more than thirteen times its high estimate. Last November, Bonhams sold three of 30 planned canvases for a total of $600,000, all benefiting APT. Currently, the Minnesota art gallery Modern Artifact is privately offering A Walk in the Woods, painted during the show's inaugural episode, for $9.85 million.

Jim Dunford, CEO and president of APT, commented on the global appeal of Ross's work, saying:“Bob Ross is one of America's most beloved cultural exports, and audiences across the globe love his work as much as viewers here in the States do. These auctions turn that worldwide affection for Bob into real support for local public television stations, and we are deeply grateful to Bob Ross Inc. for making it possible.”

Ross maintains a strong following in Germany, where his show debuted in 2001 and continues to air. Samsung TV Plus Germany also launched the Bob Ross Channel auf Deutsch this year. In the US, Ross's show aired 403 episodes between 1983 and 1994. A 2023 feature film, Paint, starring Owen Wilson as a fictionalized version of Ross, was described by ARTnews writer Shanti Escalante-de Mattei as“a flaw-filled film.” Ross's estate has also been involved in a legal dispute, which was chronicled in a 2021 Netflix documentary that the estate deemed“inaccurate and heavily slanted.”

Source: ARTnews

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