Bob Ross, a mainstay of public television in the 1980s and 1990s who became a cult figure, is helping maintain public broadcasting 30 years after his death. Thirty of his paintings are being put up for auction to support programming for public television stations grappling with the $1.1 billion cut from public broadcasting by Congress at the urging of President Donald Trump.
“This auction ensures his legacy continues to support the very medium that brought his joy and creativity into American homes for decades,” Joan Kowalski, president of Bob Ross Inc., told the Associated Press. Funds will help pay licensing fees for programs such as The Best of Joy of Painting, America’s Test Kitchen, Julia Child’s French Chef Classics and This Old House.
