Ross’ show saw a resurgence during the Covid pandemic, as audiences enjoyed his soft-spoken, paint-along lessons. Misplaced brush strokes, the former Air Force drill sergeant would say, were just “happy accidents”. He died at the age of 52 in 1995.
Bob Ross Inc said it donated the paintings to American Public Television, and that all of the net proceeds go to local public TV stations nationwide.
This includes programmes such as America’s Test Kitchen, Julia Child’s French Chef Classics and This Old House, the Associated Press news agency reported.
In August, the auction of two of Ross’ works shattered records, having sold for double and triple what had been expected.
Lake Below Snow-Capped Peaks and Cloudy Sky sold for $114,800, while Lake Below Snow-Covered Mountains and Clear Sky sold for $95,750.
“I can tell you that Bob would have been quite shy to learn that his paintings are now selling at six figures,” Joan Kowalski, the president of Bob Ross Inc, told the New York Post, external after the lots sold.
“He was never really that interested in his finished works, Bob was more fascinated with the process of painting and sharing that with other people.”
“Truthfully, I can still hear him saying something like, ‘You don’t want my paintings, you want to create your own and hang them proudly on your wall.'”