[NYT] Where Are All the Bob Ross Paintings? We Found Them.

[Wulfric]

You might think that TV's most famous painter sold the paintings he made. Some of them were donated to local PBS stations for their auctions. In fact, many of them are stored in cardboard boxes in a large Virginia warehouse. They are owned by Bob Ross Inc., operated by his former producers the Kowalskis. After his death, they were left with full ownership of the company along with his originals.

There is also an accompanying article: Bob Ross Painting Mystery

 

[Deleted member 16365]

I'd buy a Bob Ross. Not for a lot of money, but if the price were right it's a great conversation piece.

It could really tie the room together.

 

[XenodudeX]

Can you imagine how much money those could make? People would throw money at those things.

 

[Man with Knife]

I mean he was a shitty painter, but they still should be sold or hang in a museum instead of rotting in a box

 

[ShadowSwordmaster]

They should give away those paintings to schools.

 

[Wulfric]

Can you imagine how much money those could make? People would throw money at those things.

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The NYT article had some info on this. With so many imitations and fakes, the seller really needs rock-solid provenance behind the piece.

How much does one cost?

In the rare cases when a Bob Ross painting does surface, it depends who is buying. Joan Kowalski, president of Bob Ross Inc., said she has seen authentic Ross paintings sell online for $8,000 to $10,000 in recent years.
After we set out on our quest, a three-panel painting described as a "Bob Ross Original Oil Painting Triptych Mountain Landscape" surfaced on eBay. It is listed at $55,000:

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[zma1013]

I want someone to count how many happy clouds in total have been painted across all his work.

 

[HStallion]

I mean he was a shitty painter, but they still should be sold or hang in a museum instead of rotting in a box

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Simple and straight forward but he was by no means a shitty painter.

 

[Septy]

I mean he was a shitty painter

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Imagine thinking this

 

[Deleted member 11413]

I mean he was a shitty painter, but they still should be sold or hang in a museum instead of rotting in a box

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Wtf? Shitty painter?

 

[I am a Bird]

I mean he was a shitty painter, but they still should be sold or hang in a museum instead of rotting in a box

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On what metric are we stating that bob ross was a shitty painter?

 

[Man with Knife]

Simple and straight forward but he was by no means a shitty painter.

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Watch the episode with Ben Stahl to see the difference between a great artist and a fraud like Ross

 

[Xythantiops]

Saw this the other day.

I always heard the paintings were sold for charities.

 

[Dalek]

he was a shitty painter

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Weekend Era getting a head start

 

[Indy in the Fridge]

Watch the episode with Ben Stahl to see the difference between a great artist and a fraud like Ross

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I get criticizing his abilities but calling him a fraud is complete and utter bullshit and disregards the impact his teaching painting had on a lot of people.

 

[cyress8]

I mean he was a shitty painter, but they still should be sold or hang in a museum instead of rotting in a box

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Your alerts about to get blown the fuck up!

 

[Meatfist]

I mean he was a shitty painter, but they still should be sold or hang in a museum instead of rotting in a box

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Between this and "ERA is actually center-right", I don't know if I can handle any more bad takes this month

 

[Wulfric]

Saw this the other day.

I always heard the paintings were sold for charities.

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That's the story I heard too. But when you have thousands of paintings, that's a drop in the bucket unless he donated loads of them.

 

[Raccoon]

Watch the episode with Ben Stahl to see the difference between a great artist and a fraud like Ross

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he wasn't a fraud because he was not nearly pretentious enough to claim to be a "great artist." he was an entertainer and a hobby instructor, your potshots at him as an "artist" are pedestrian

Edit: added quotes around "artist" for clarity

 

[Quality Garbage]

I watched this a few days ago with my wife. I think they should sell off a select handful to fund a foundation and museum/gallery that can then be used to fund philanthropic arts education programs.

He's quite possibly the most famous and well known American painter amongst the average person in the country.

I asked my 13 year old nephew about his knowledge of Ross, Warhol, Pollock and Rockwell. The only one he knew anything about was Ross. He'd heard of Warhol but didn't know what works are his, no clue about Pollock and Rockwell.

 

[thediamondage]

i'd totally buy one and hang it above my bedroom to remind me to beat the devil out of it

 

[nitewulf]

Watch the episode with Ben Stahl to see the difference between a great artist and a fraud like Ross

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I never thought i'd actually see a Bob Ross hater. But here we are.

 

[Raccoon]

I never thought i'd actually see a Bob Ross hater. But here we are.

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oh they're everywhere online. people who think alla prima isn't real painting and (far more egregiously) that people aren't allowed to engage in an activity at a lower level as a hobby

 

[Hours Left]

I want one.

 

[Wulfric]

Watch the episode with Ben Stahl to see the difference between a great artist and a fraud like Ross

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No need to pit them against each other. If Ross was able to get thousands of people to try painting, I'd say he was pretty successful. The actual pieces are simply a byproduct of the show.

 

[thewienke]

I never thought i'd actually see a Bob Ross hater. But here we are.

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May as well shit on Mr. Rogers while they're at it.

 

[Dekuman]

The hot takes are terrible here

Bob never passed himself off as a great painter or a talent. His show is called the joy of painting

He.loves to paint and opened the craft to many others


If your first reaction is to shit on him, don't post.

 

[Quality Garbage]

May as well shit on Mr. Rogers while they're at it.

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He ruined the youth of this country by discussing assassination after RFKs....

 

[Man with Knife]

I'm not a hater, just calling a spade a spade.

Also, wasn't he a Full Metal Jacket type drill sergeant before he began talking like a child and putting little animals on his shoulder?

 

[DrewFu]

Watch the episode with Ben Stahl to see the difference between a great artist and a fraud like Ross

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WTF is this absolute shit post?

 

[Dyle]

I always like seeing familiar storage solutions. Acid free and buffered materials are for snobs, he says watching everything deteriorate around him

It's a little odd to me that they haven't capitalized more on it, simply producing licensed painting supplies seems like a limited approach and one that isn't fully in tune with his messaging. Given the way that wine and paint classes have exploded in recent years it seems like perhaps a missed opportunity to not establish a more public facing outlet, but perhaps the recent rebirth of interest in him will help provide the funding necessary for such a move forward.

 

[ElectricBlanketFire]

I'm not a hater, just calling a spade a spade.

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"Traditionally, art has been for the select few," Ross said. "We have been brainwashed to believe that Michaelangelo had to pat you on the head at birth. Well, we show people that anybody can paint a picture that they're proud of. It may never hang in the Smithsonian, but it will certainly be something that they'll hang in their home and be proud of. And that's what it's all about."

-Bob Ross

 

[Yerffej]

I'm not a hater, just calling a spade a spade.

Also, wasn't he a Full Metal Jacket type drill sergeant before he began talking like a child and putting little animals on his shoulder?

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What does that have to do with the quality of his work? Calling his stuff shit is just factually wrong.

 

[Reym]

Watch the episode with Ben Stahl to see the difference between a great artist and a fraud like Ross

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I know I'm just adding the dogpile, but I'm sort of boggled by how much this misunderstands...like everything.

 

[Deleted member 24052]

"Traditionally, art has been for the select few," Ross said. "We have been brainwashed to believe that Michaelangelo had to pat you on the head at birth. Well, we show people that anybody can paint a picture that they're proud of. It may never hang in the Smithsonian, but it will certainly be something that they'll hang in their home and be proud of. And that's what it's all about."

-Bob Ross

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Yep. I studied art and art history for years, and I greatly respect Bob Ross' perspective and accomplishments in spreading the...well, joy of painting.

 

[pikachief]

Bob Ross was about making painting simple. He may have been a simple artist, but that doesn't mean he wasn't a great one. Besides painting was his second art, his first art was making people happy and making them believe in themselves. It just so happened to reflect onto his first art.

And that alone makes his art great and worth many monies.

 

[DrewFu]

Bob Ross was about making painting simple. He may have been a simple artist, but that doesn't mean he wasn't a great one. Besides painting was his second art, his first art was making people happy and making them believe in themselves. It just so happened to reflect onto his first art.

And that alone makes his art great and worth many monies.

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That was deep. And I'm not being sarcastic. Well said.

 

[HStallion]

Watch the episode with Ben Stahl to see the difference between a great artist and a fraud like Ross

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He had a good understanding of the concepts of painting and had the essentials of the craft down pat. He was not a shitty painter.

I'm not a hater, just calling a spade a spade.

Also, wasn't he a Full Metal Jacket type drill sergeant before he began talking like a child and putting little animals on his shoulder?

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No he wasn't and not only are you hating, you don't even have a solid grasp of what you're hating on.

 

[Indy in the Fridge]

I'm not a hater, just calling a spade a spade.

Also, wasn't he a Full Metal Jacket type drill sergeant before he began talking like a child and putting little animals on his shoulder?

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I can't with you man...especially with that dollar store Pee Wee Herman avatar of yours.

 

[Deleted member 48897]

I always heard the paintings were sold for charities.

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It sounds like a number of them were, including for PBS fundraisers and the like, but considering he painted in triplicate for each episode (as mentioned at the start of the article) and there are about 400 episodes, and not counting things like live demonstrations at mall appearances and such... that's a lot of paintings to account for.

 

[stressboy]

I mean he was a shitty painter

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You sound like my shitty high school art teacher.

 

[BossAttack]

Imagine being such a pretentious asshole as to shit on Bob Ross.

 

[Anoregon]

Imagine being such a pretentious asshole as to shit on Bob Ross.

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you just don't get real art

 

[MasterYoshi]

Your alerts about to get blown the fuck up!

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Just as planned.

 

[Emergency & I]

god i would so buy a Bob Ross

 

[Jesse_and_the_rippers]

I never thought i'd actually see a Bob Ross hater. But here we are.

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My father was an artist and hated Bob Ross. Said he only painted made up scenes and doubted that he could replicate an actual landscape in person or from a photo.

There are probably chefs who criticized Julia Child too. I think it's an issue of not wanting their art/craft/whatever "dumbed down" for the general public.

NOTE: I do not share this opinion at all, just saying that the haters are indeed out there lol. I love what public television has exposed people to, and I think Bob Ross is a national treasure.

 

[Mr. President]

Does the Times have Wes Anderson editing their YouTube videos?

 

[scottbeowulf]

Wait, people are hating on Bob Ross? Jesus man, this place. Lets also hate on Richard Simmons, he wasn't a real hardcore fitness instructor. Or Mr. Rogers... stupid fake teacher. Most of these kinda "fakes" are the ones that open up the masses the most to their craft. They instill more love and interest in what they do than all the pretentious "real artist" put together.

 

[WascallyWabbit]

It's art, people. If someone thinks it's shitty that's just as valid as someone thinking it's great.

That said, Bob Ross was the man.

 

[Indy in the Fridge]

It's art, people. If someone thinks it's shitty that's just as valid as someone thinking it's great.

That said, Bob Ross was the man.

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There is a distinct difference between calling a piece of art shitty and calling someone a shitty artist and a fraud. That sort of "art criticism" is pathetic.