Dr. Lori Verderame
Art & Antiques by Dr. Lori
by Dr. Lori Verderame
My uncle Frank, now 97 years young, introduced me to artist/broadcaster Bob Ross (1942-1995) when I was a kid. Growing up, my uncle Frank was the craftsmen of craftsmen. He could fix a leaky toilet, repair the garage door opener, repurpose an old office chair, carve duck decoys, and build a garden gazebo. Like many of his generation, he didn’t have much, so he had to learn how to make functional and fun things. He enjoyed “his hobbies” as he called them and would always have a craft project for me, my siblings, and my cousins prepared to keep us entertained. It was fun to make something in his workshop and take it home to show Mom—a wooden spoon, a figurine made of rocks, or a Christmas ornament. Uncle Frank is a talented guy and liked to share his enjoyment of crafting.
When it came to painting, my uncle Frank and other crafters learned to paint from TV’s longtime on-camera art teacher, Bob Ross. Ross’s PBS show The Joy of Painting boasted 403 episodes. The show aired from January 1983 to May 1994. And, after years of doing in-home appraisals all over the country, I know that many people have a painting or two tucked away that they produced based on the instruction offered during Ross’s TV show. Many amateur artists report that they made a painting in front of the TV following along with Ross. There are a multitude of landscape paintings all over America featuring mountains, sunsets, and Ross’s infamous “happy trees”. These resulting amateur paintings are part of Americana just like Norman Rockwell’s images of children or Jackson Pollock’s drip paintings.
What was considered kitchy art for decades by the art market is now selling for record prices at auction. At Bonhams auction house, two early 1990s Ross landscapes exceeded market expectations and estimated auction values. New records were set for the artist with Lake below Snow-Capped Peaks and Cloudy Sky bringing $114,800 and Lake below Snow-Covered Mountains and Clear Sky which sold for $95,750. Ross’s art has been enjoying a surge of interest at auctions around the country with examples of his paintings selling in the $30,000 to $50,000 range. Ross was highly prolific, producing thousands of paintings in his wet-on-wet technique, known to art experts as alla prima, over his short lifetime.
Today, Ross paintings are sought after, and thrift store shoppers are looking for them with vigor. Why is Ross getting such attention now? Resale value is important and there is an abundance of flippers in the online art market aiding Ross’s market rise. What’s coming next? The sale of Bob Ross style landscape paintings made by art enthusiasts commanding lower values than an authentic Ross painting but still getting more money for a copycat than one might think. In my experience, the most difficult aspect of an artist’s career has been achieved with Ross… that is, widespread positive promotion and collecting desire from the younger generation.
Ross has something equally attractive to collectors: Nostalgia. Everybody knows Ross and recognizes his paintings. A large sector of Americans watched Ross’s PBS show. And, from my experience as a market insider, art historian, and appraiser, I know that the paintings produced “a la Ross” exist in homes all over the US. And since demand in the art market is about nostalgia now, these paintings attract buyers in great numbers. A new generation of collectors are poised to paint their own 21st century “happy trees” and sell the authentic Bob Ross paintings that are bound to pop up in the art market for a tidy profit.
Ph.D. art and antiques appraiser, YouTube star with 75 million views on her channel www.YouTube.com/DrLoriV , and award-winning media personality, Dr. Lori Verderame presents her popular Antiques Appraisal Comedy Tour nationwide. She appears on Netflix, History channel, and CBS & ABC networks. Want to know what your stuff is worth? or take a class to learn how to Sell your Old Stuff for Profit? Visit www.DrLoriV.com or call (888) 431-1010.
