Bob Ross’ first piece featured in ‘The Joy of Painting’ earns $9.8M at auction

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“A Walk In The Woods” (1983), the first Bob Ross painting to be featured on the icon’s landmark series “Joy Of Painting,” has been auctioned off for nearly ten million dollars in Minnesota.

The nostalgic opus, which is signed in red by the bushy-fro’d Floridian, was sold to an unidentified buyer for 9.8 million after being housed at the Minneapolis-based gallery Modern Artifact, Fox News reported.

They described the work as the “most historically significant Bob Ross original painting ever created.”

Indeed, the oil on canvas — which depicted bronze-leaved trees in Autumn — is credited in part with launching Ross’ career: It was the first ever piece to be painted on his iconic show, “The Joy Of Painting,” which aired on PBS from 1983 until 1994 — one year before his death from complications of lymphona at the age of 52.

During the pilot, Ross had said that “each of us at some point during our life has wanted to paint a picture.”

“I think there is an artist hidden in the bottom of every single one of us,” added the landscape maven, who fell in love with painting while attending an art class during his 20-year career in the Air Force. “Here we will try to show you how to bring that artist out.”

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Despite his massive popularity and prolific output, the painter’s works are exceedingly hard to find (hence the steep auction price).

"Bob Ross has surpassed Andy Warhol and Pablo Picasso as the internet’s most searched for artist according to data from Google Analytics,” said Nelson. “It’s an incredibly impressive feat, especially considering that there is virtually no official marketing, and his original paintings are nearly impossible to find.”

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One72

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That’s not what I expected to read.

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Dude was dirty.

Cheated on his wife with his producer. Producer started Bob Ross Foundation, which owns Ross’ NIL. Foundation sells all sorts of stuff under his name. Ross family actually gets nothing.

That’s what you get for cheating on your wife, Bob.

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by One72Dude was dirty. Cheated on his wife with his producer. Producer started Bob Ross Foundation, which owns Ross’ NIL. Foundation sells all sorts of stuff under his name. Ross family actually gets nothing. That’s what you get for cheating on your wife, Bob.

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One72

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