Happy Little Mystery Solved: We Finally Know What Happened to All of Bob Ross’ Paintings

Bob Ross is one of the most prolific artists of the 20th century, but his works are hard to find. They aren't sold at auction houses and they rarely appear in museums. But that doesn't mean they're not out there. For each of the 403 episodes Ross filmed for The Joy of Painting, he painted three pieces: one before filming to use as a reference, one during the show, and one after for his how-to books. He painted more than 1000 works for the series and now, nearly 25 years after the painter's death, The New York Times has finally discovered where all those happy little masterpieces are hiding.

Bob Ross Inc. headquarters in northern Virginia houses stacks of boxes of Bob Ross originals. The paintings aren't kept in a climate-controlled room like you might expect to find in the back of the Louvre. Rather, they sit in a regular storage room mixed in with other Bob Ross documents and artifacts.

Knocking on the door of the building won't get you a private showing of the artwork. Bob Ross Inc. is the company that handles the Bob Ross brand, and its headquarters aren't open to the public. But the massive body of work the painter left behind is becoming slightly more accessible to fans. Earlier in 2019, Bob Ross Inc. donated some of the items in its inventory to the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History. The donation included the paintings “On a Clear Day" and “Blue Ridge Falls,” as well as handwritten notebooks and fan letters. The museum has no plans to display the paintings as of yet, but this fall, a different set of Ross originals will be shown at the Franklin Park Arts Center in Purcellville, Virginia. The exhibit will include 24 of his paintings—the most ever displayed at one time.

Fans looking to own a happy little landscape of their own are likely out of luck. The paintings at Bob Ross Inc. aren't for sale, which means any so-called Ross paintings you see being auctioned off online are likely fakes. For tips on how to spot a counterfeit, and to see where Bob Ross's real paintings are today, watch the video from the The New York Times below.