How much did Bob Ross make from ‘The Joy of Painting’?

The late Bob Ross enchanted viewers for over a decade with his popular art instructional show on PBS, ‘The Joy of Painting.’ His show ran in the US, Canada, and Europe from 1983 until 1994.

Ross was known for his sunny compositions, beautiful big hair, his passion for dynamic nature landscape scenes, and his constant addition of “happy little trees!” Fans of the artist continue to cherish his instructional painting episodes today.

However, many fans may not know that Ross didn’t make his income from his work on the ‘The Joy of Painting,’ instead, his appreciation for art is what kept him doing it. In a 1990 interview with Orlando Sentinel, Ross revealed that he never got paid for the show.

“People see you on television and they think you make the same amount of money that Clint Eastwood does. But this is PBS. All these shows are done for free.”

How did Bob Ross make his fortune?

Since Ross didn’t make any money off of the episodes of ‘The Joy of Painting,’ he made his life earnings off of his art corporation. This corporation produced tons of how-to books, over 100 videotapes, Bob Ross-branded art materials, and a small collection of around 150 art teachers around the world.

Beyond his corporation, Ross made some of his money off of selling his paintings. However, these paintings were from before he was famous, as his work done for PBS is owned by PBS still.

Can you purchase a Bob Ross painting?

It is reported that Bob Ross is one of the most prolific painters in the world, as he churned out over 30,000 paintings, which is over double the amount of paintings done by Picasso. So where are all of these paintings?

According to The New York Times, the paintings Ross created for his show were work for hire, meaning the company maintained ownership of his works.

When Ross died in 1995, Bob Ross, Inc and all the paintings became the sole property of Annette Kowalski and her husband, Walt, who were longtime business partners of Ross.

The New York Times reports that almost two thousand Bob Ross originals are sitting in cardboard boxes inside the company’s office building in Herndon, Virginia.

The Hustle asked Joan Kowalki, Annette’s daughter, who is the current president of Bob Ross Inc., about the paintings, to which she explained that she’s never really given it much thought.

“The paintings have always just sort of been here,” she says, with a chuckle. “We were sort of behind the times… it never occurred to us that anyone would want them.”

Reportedly the company gets constant inquiries from people hoping to purchase the paintings, but they remain not for sale.

“Our only mission,” Kowalski says, “is to preserve the mythological wonderment that was Bob Ross.”