John Oliver auction to help public media has $1M Bob Ross painting, several other curious items
Bob Ross paintings auctioned to help fund public television stations
Thirty iconic Bob Ross paintings are hitting the auction block to help fund public television stations.
Happy little trees and other curious items are bringing in big bucks for public broadcasting stations.
John Oliver announced an auction to benefit local stations on the Nov. 16 season finale of his “Last Week Tonight with John Oliver,” and the centerpiece original canvas painting by Bob Ross has already drawn a bid of more than $1 million.
Ross’ painting “Cabin at Sunset” is among the dozens that are part of the “John Oliver’s Junk” auction, which will benefit the Public Media Bridge Fund that financially supports local stations.
Known for his gentle demeanor and distinctive perm, the painter and art instructor created and hosted “The Joy of Painting,” which aired on PBS from 1983 to 1994 on PBS in the United States and on CBC in Canada.
The show was based out of the Muncie, Indiana, PBS station WIPB.
Ross died from cancer in 1995 at the age of 52.
“Cabin at Sunset” by Bob Ross
Ross painted “Cabin at Sunset” while recording the second episode of the 10th season of “The Joy of Painting” in 1986.
The piece has been housed in secure storage for almost 40 years, according to the listing.
By the afternoon of Nov. 18, the work had drawn 55 bids, the highest of which was $1,044,000.
How to buy Russell Crowe’s jockstrap, LBJ’s testicles from John Oliver
Also being auctioned are trips and props acquired during the 12 seasons of HBO’s “Last Week Tonight with John Oliver.”
Among the more than 60 items offered is a leather jockstrap worn by Russell Crowe in the 2005 movie “Cinderella Man.” It had drawn a bid of $20,500 by Nov. 18.
Also, more than 70 bids were made for a sculpture imagining a private part of President Lyndon B. Johnson (weighing 45 pounds and based on a joke from the show); with the highest at $25,050 by the afternoon.
The auction list is here.
The auction closes on Nov. 24.
Other Bob Ross paintings up for auction in 2026
Oliver told his audience he’d requested a painting from Bob Ross Inc. to auction off after learning about the auctioning of a group of Bob Ross paintings.
Three of those went up for sale at Bonhams auction house in Los Angeles on Nov. 11 to offset the cost of programming for publicly-funded stations that have been impacted bydeep cuts in federal funding.
They brought in $662,000, double the pre-sale estimate. “Winter’s Peace,” painted in 1993, sold for $318,000; “Home in the Valley,” was purchased for $229,100; and “Cliffside,” painted in 1990, sold for $114,800.
The three paintings were among 30 Ross paintings that Bonhams in October announced would be auctioned.
Auction dates for the remaining 27 paintings will take place in 2026 in Los Angeles, Boston and New York on dates to be announced later.
All profits will go to stations that use productions from American Public Television.
Over the summer, the Republican-controlled Congress eliminated more than $1 billion in funding for public media, leading to the shutdown of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which provided funds to hundreds of local public radio and television stations.
Watch Bob Ross paint the $1 million ‘Cabin at Sunset’
On the Sept. 10, 1986, episode of “The Joy of Painting,” Ross painted “Cabin at Sunset” in addition to “Towering Peaks,” “Twin Falls,” “Secluded Bridge,” “Ocean Breeze,” “Autumn Woods,” “Winter Solitude,” “Golden Sunset,” “Mountain Oval,” “Ocean Sunset,” “Triple View,” “Winter Frost” and “Lakeside Cabin.”
See the episode below:
Contributing: James Powel, USA TODAY
Contact Midwest Connect reporter Cheryl V. Jackson at [email protected] or 317-444-6264. Follow her on X.com: @cherylvjackson or Bluesky: @cherylvjackson.bsky.social.
