The above screenshot is from the 1983 premiere of Bob Ross's "The Joy of Painting" TV show. (Full episode below.) The artwork Ross made during that episode, titled "A Walk in the Woods," is now for sale with a listed price of $9.75 million. Usually, Ross's paintings sell for under $100,000. The original owner of "A Walk in the Woods" was a PBS volunteer who won the painting many years ago during an auction benefiting the station.
"I don't know the exact number that she paid at that point, but knowing what others paid around the same period, I'd assume it was somewhere under $100," says Modern Artifact gallery proprietor Ryan Nelson who is selling the artwork.
From NPR:
Nelson, whose gallery has become the primary facilitator of the growing Ross market, said he purchased the painting from the PBS volunteer with the intention of selling it, but now isn't so sure he's ready to let it go.
"I think that the greatest thing we can do with it is travel it. I'd rather we get this in front of the public," he said. "But there are definitely offers that I would probably have to take."
