What would Bob Ross think?
The artist who brought painting to the people, with works completed for PBS viewers in less than a half-hour with little more than a large bristle brush, putty knife and plenty of encouragement, certainly wouldn鈥檛 have envisioned one of his works going up for sale for nearly $10 million.
But that鈥檚 the price a Minneapolis gallery is asking for 鈥淎 Walk in the Woods,鈥� the first of more than 400 paintings that Ross produced on-air for his TV series 鈥淭he Joy of Painting.鈥�
鈥淚t is season one, episode one of what you would call the rookie card for Bob Ross,鈥� Ryan Nelson, who owns the gallery, Modern Artifact, said of the work created in the show鈥檚 debut, which aired Jan. 11, 1983.
Growing up in a small town, Nelson said he was introduced to art through Ross鈥� show and loves his paintings. He doesn鈥檛 expect a quick sale given the high asking price, which he sees as an opportunity to display the painting for a larger audience.
On that first show where he painted 鈥淎 Walk in the Woods,鈥� Ross 鈥� sporting his beloved perm, full beard and unbuttoned shirt 鈥� stressed that painting didn鈥檛 need to be pretentious.
鈥淲e have avoided painting for so long because I think all of our lives we鈥檝e been told that you have to go to school half your life, maybe even have to be blessed by Michelangelo at birth, to ever be able to paint a picture,鈥� Ross said. 鈥淎nd here, we want to show you that that鈥檚 not true. That you can paint a picture.鈥�
Ross, who died in 1995, hosted the show from 1983 until 1994. In each episode, he would speak directly to viewers whom he encouraged to paint with him as he created idealized scenes of streams backed by mountains, waterfalls and rustic cabins and mills 鈥� all done very quickly.
None of Ross鈥� paintings, including 鈥淎 Walk in the Woods,鈥� would be confused for masterpieces. But that wasn鈥檛 the point.
鈥淲hat this piece represents is the people鈥檚 artist,鈥� Nelson said. 鈥淭his isn鈥檛 an institution that鈥檚 telling you that Bob Ross is great. It鈥檚 not some high-brow gallery telling you that Bob Ross is great. This is the masses, the population in the world that are saying that Bob Ross is great.鈥�
The first season of 鈥淭he Joy of Painting鈥� was filmed in Falls Creek, Virginia, and the painting from Ross鈥� first show was sold months later to raise funds for the local PBS station. A volunteer at the station bought the painting for an undisclosed price and hung it in her home for 39 years until getting in touch with Nelson, who has bought and sold more than 100 of Ross鈥� works.
Nelson bought the painting last year and then gave it a 鈥渘ot for sale鈥� price of $9.85 million, said publicist Megan Hoffman.
Hoffman said the asking price is far more than any other Ross painting has sold for, but 鈥淎 Walk in the Woods鈥� is unique and Nelson isn鈥檛 looking for a quick sale. She notes that Ross鈥� popularity has soared in recent years, with 5.63 million subscribers to a YouTube channel featuring his shows.
鈥淩yan would prefer to take it out, tour it around to museums and things like that so people can enjoy it and appreciate it,鈥� Hoffman said. 鈥淗e will take offers but he鈥檚 not in a hurry to sell it.鈥�
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