Los Angeles — Three paintings from famously chill public television legend Bob Ross sold Tuesday for more than $600,000 at auction. The paintings were the first of 30 Ross works being sold to benefit public TV stations hurt by cuts in federal funding .

At the live auction at Bonhams in Los Angeles, a serene snow vista called "Winter's Peace" that Ross painted entirely during a 1993 episode of "The Joy of Painting" went for $318,000 to a bidder on the phone.

"For a good cause - and you get the painting," auctioneer Aaron Bastian said during the bidding. He invoked a common sentiment of Ross, who died in 1995, during a brief lull. "Bob would remind you that this is your world, and you can do anything you want."

Another painting done on a 1993 episode, a lush green landscape calle

See Full Page