Auction of Bob Ross paintings aims to fill funding gaps for public broadcasting

Transcript

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Amna Nawaz: More than 30 years after his death, the work of artist, educator and public television icon Bob Ross continues to engage audiences in the U.S. and around the world.

So, when Congress rescinded $1.1 billion allocated for public broadcasting this fall, Bob Ross Incorporated saw a chance to fill some of the funding gap by selling 30 of his paintings. The first three are set to be auctioned tomorrow.

Deema Zein has more on this most unusual pledge drive for our arts and culture series, Canvas.

Deema Zein: You may never guess that hidden in a warehouse in Northern Virginia sits some:

Bob Ross, Artist: Happy accidents.

Deema Zein: A small fraction of the 30,000 paintings Bob Ross is estimated to have created in his lifetime, many made famous and valuable by his TV show, “The Joy of Painting.”

Bob Ross: Let’s do the reflections here.

Deema Zein: Which originally aired from 1983 to 1994.

Joan Kowalski, President, Bob Ross Inc.: My mom took a class with him when he was nobody and she thought he was so remarkable that she went home at night and told my dad we need to help this guy because he’s really amazing.

Deema Zein: Joan Kowalski is president of Bob Ross Inc. founded in 1982 by Ross, his wife and Joan’s parents, Annette and Walt Kowalski. The company says it’s committed to keeping his legacy alive through the sale of all things Bob Ross and now through an auction.

Joan Kowalski: Took me a couple weeks to decide which were just the best paintings.

Deema Zein: We caught Kowalski at the warehouse packing up some of the paintings to be shipped for sale by the auction company Bonhams, but not before:

Joan Kowalski: “PBS News Hour” is going to see them first.

Deema Zein: Selling Ross’ work was something Kowalski had never thought to consider until Congress called back the Corporation for Public Broadcasting’s funding last July.

Joan Kowalski: In the middle of the night, when I was sleeping, it just occurred to me, Bonhams had auctioned off a couple of Bob’s paintings that were privately owned and they raised a lot of money. And I thought we could do something like that. And then the funds from those auctions will then trickle down to all the local TV stations.

Deema Zein: And why was that important to auction for public television specific?

Joan Kowalski: It’s where Bob started.

Bob Ross: Let’s get crazy.

Joan Kowalski: He was fiercely devoted to public television. He loved the way it was set up, where it’s really just him and the viewer. Honestly, if he had been here, it would have been his idea, I think.

Deema Zein: Born in 1942 in Daytona, Florida, Bob Ross grew up loving the natural world. But it was as a young airman stationed at the Air Force base in Alaska that he first learned to paint the beauty he saw around him.

Bob Ross: This is another one of those big decisions you have to make.

Deema Zein: Having discovered his signature wet-on-wet style that utilizes layers of wet paint to softly blend, bleed and diffuse colors and passionate in his belief that anyone could learn to paint, in 1982, Ross recorded the first episode of “The Joy of Painting” at Falls Church, Virginia, public television station WNVC.

Bob Ross: There we go. Just let him wander around, play, have fun.

Deema Zein: Over the course of 12 years and more than 400 episodes, Ross’ soothing voice…

Bob Ross: Barely touching the canvas here.

Deema Zein: … took viewers on a step-by-step journey of creation, a formula combined with a distinctive perm that led to fame, transcending public television even into shows like “Family Guy.”

Actor: And we’re going to put a happy little bush right down over here in the corner there. And that will just be our little secret.

Bob Ross: A little roll of paint on the knife.

Deema Zein: Now more than 30 years after Ross recorded his last episode, 100 percent of net proceeds from the upcoming auctions will be donated, so local PBS stations can continue to air programs like “America’s Test Kitchen,” Julia Child “French Chef” classics and “This old House,” as well as the original and remake of “The Joy of Painting.”

How did you choose the 30 to donate and then the six that are here today?

Joan Kowalski: Actually, our appraiser told us that the ones that will likely raise the most are the ones that Bob did on television. I was careful to make sure that most of them were the exact paintings that he did on TV. And so you will have a painting hanging on your wall and you will be able to see Bob painting it stroke for stroke.

Mark Boultinghouse, Appraiser of Art and Antiques: This is a man who’s got a voice of a God who can paint little happy trees and make you smile. And it translates to his art.

Deema Zein: Mark Boultinghouse is an appraiser of art and antiques who works with Kowalski.

How much are you expecting to raise from the collection of 30 that are being donated for this auction?

Mark Boultinghouse: Hmm. Because I want to say $5 million.

Deema Zein: How are you coming up with that?

Mark Boultinghouse: It’s based on what I have seen in the market, especially the last Bonhams auction. One of them sold for $118,000. These are paintings that have not seen the light of day.

Bob Ross: A little more of the color and off we go.

Deema Zein: What do you think Bob Ross would have made of this auction?

Joan Kowalski: I think he would have been kind of giggling. I don’t think he realized that his paintings would ever become this big of a deal. He was more interested in the process of painting. So the idea that we’re all hovering around his paintings would crack him up, I think. He would be laughing.

You don’t realize how gorgeous they are.

Deema Zein: Surrounded by happy and, it turns out, valuable mistakes…

Bob Ross: But just stick in a twig here and there.

Deema Zein: … for the “PBS News Hour,” I’m Deema Zein.

Bob Ross: Shoot. We got to finish painting.

Geoff Bennett: And there’s more online from Deema and Joan about Bob Ross, his iconic hairstyle, his favorite hobby outside of painting and a few more fun facts. That’s at PBS.org/NewsHour.