“That’s what I like about painting: It gives you freedom,” mused the famed artist Bob Ross in a 1994 episode of his instructional television show The Joy of Painting. “You can create any illusion that you want.” Using his signature wet-on-wet oil technique, Ross gently dabbed a mixture of bright yellow and green paint onto an upright canvas, creating grassy foothills that fused into a landscape of lush trees, gauzy mountains, a jewel-toned pond, and a red-roofed barn. “Home in the Valley” (1993) is among the thousands of works Ross created on-camera during the show’s run on Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) stations for over a decade. Now, it’s going under the hammer next month in an auction to benefit public broadcasters suffering under President Trump’s federal funding cuts. Organized by the nonprofit programming syndicator American Public Television (APT) and conducted by Bonhams, the sale will feature 30 paintings by the late artist. Net proceeds will be distributed across APT and PBS stations nationwide, according to an October 7 announcement from Bob Ross Inc., the company managed by Joan Kowalski, daughter of Ross’s former business partners Annette and Walt Kowalski.“The auction ensures Bob’s legacy continues to support the very medium that brought his joy and creativity into American homes for decades,” the announcement said.Bob Ross, “Winter’s Peace” (1993)The first of the sales, scheduled for November 11 in Los Angeles, will include three of Ross’s works — “Home in the Valley” (1993), “Winter’s Peace” (1993), and “Cliffside” (1990) — as part of Bonhams’s California & Western Art sale. The works are each valued at around $30,000 to $50,000. The remaining paintings will be offered in a series of auctions across Bonhams’s New York, Los Angeles, and Boston salerooms throughout 2026, the auction house told Hyperallergic. In the decades following his death, Ross’s legacy of accessible arts education has continued to resonate with many. The Joy of Painting, which can still be watched on YouTube and other streaming platforms, saw a resurgence in 2020 as new generations of viewers flocked to his calming voice and distinctive broccoli-floret perm amid the lockdowns of the COVID-19 pandemic. At the same time, both Ross’s legacy and that of the Kowalskis have come under increased scrutiny and reevaluation.Bob Ross, “Cliffside” (1990)In 2019, the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History acquired four paintings, and in 2023, “A Walk in the Woods” (1983), which was created for the first episode of his TV series, was valued at around $10 million. (It was rumored to have later sold to an unnamed buyer for $9.8 million.)In August, Bonhams sold two paintings by Ross, “Lake Below Snow-Capped Peaks and Cloudy Sky” (1990–91) and “Lake Below Snow-Covered Mountains and Clear Sky” (1990–91) for $114,800 and $95,750, respectively.“Bonhams holds the world record for Bob Ross, and with his market continuing to climb, proceeds benefiting American Public Television, and many of the paintings created live on air — a major draw for collectors — we expect spirited bidding and results that could surpass previous records,” Robin Starr, general manager of the auction house, said in a statement shared with Hyperallergic.