Success of Bob Ross Benefit Auctions Continues at Bonhams New York

Four paintings by Bob Ross—the beloved painter and instructor whose measured cadence turned television painting into something close to ritual—delivered emphatic results at Bonhams New York earlier this week, where each sold for roughly four times its high estimate.

Led by Purple Mountain Range (1993) at $279,900 USD (£207,402), the group also saw Autumn Images (1990), painted live on-air during episode one of the 22nd series of The Joy of Painting, achieve $241,800 USD (£179,170). Meanwhile Mountain Seclusion (1990) and River’s Peace (1991) realised $203,700 USD (£150,939) apiece.

Executed in his signature wet-on-wet technique, the works draw on Ross’s familiar repertoire of motifs including snow-capped peaks, tranquil waters, and “happy little trees”.

Part of a series of benefit auctions offering 30 paintings donated by Bob Ross Inc., the sales were organised following the elimination of more than $1.1 billion USD (£815 million) in federal funding for US public broadcasters. The cuts were first called for by President Donald Trump in May last year, and passed by the House of Representatives in July.

The series of auctions began last November and will continue throughout 2026, with non-profit programme syndicator American Public Television pledging to direct 100% of net proceeds to public television stations nationwide. 

Previous offerings have capitalised on the late artist’s enduring popularity, buoyed by streaming-era rediscovery and nostalgia—most recently in January 2026, when Change of Seasons (1990) set the artist’s current auction record at $787,900 USD (£583,824), also at Bonhams.

While Ross’s paintings ranked among the strongest performers on the day, the top lot of the sale was Thomas Wilmer Dewing’s Figures with Blossoms (1900), which hammered at $826,000 (£612,055)—more than double its low estimate. The three-panel screen painted in oil presents elongated, classically draped female figures suspended in a pale green atmosphere, encircled by white blossoms.

Another highlight, Edward Henry Potthast’s Children at Play, Brighton Beach, achieved $248,150, exemplifying the artist’s sunlit scenes of modern leisure.