Three paintings by beloved TV artist Bob Ross sold for a combined $600,000 at an auction on Tuesday, as part of an effort to raise funds for public broadcasting following the Trump administration’s funding cuts. The top seller was “Winter’s Peace,” a serene snowscape Ross completed during a 1993 episode of “The Joy of Painting,” which sold for $318,000 to a phone bidder. It was followed by “Home in the Valley,” which sold for $229,100, and “Cliffside,” which went for $114,800. All three pieces soared past their pre-auction estimates, which had topped out at around $50,000. The auctions are the first in what is expected to be the largest release of Ross’ original work, with around 30 paintings set to go under the hammer over the coming months, in an effort to fill a $1.1 billion void left by the elimination of public television funding earlier this year. Ross, known for his distinctive hairstyle and calm, encouraging demeanor, hosted The Joy of Painting on PBS for 11 years until his death from cancer at age 52 in 1995. The artist has only become more popular in the years since his death, with the Joy of Painting experiencing a huge surge in popularity during the COVID-19 lockdowns in 2020.
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