I would actually argue that Ross' body of work constitutes a non-traditional branch of modern art and/or contemporary art. It's easy to dismiss it as kitschy la

I would actually argue that Ross' body of work constitutes a non-traditional branch of modern art and/or contemporary art. It's easy to dismiss it as kitschy landscape paintings cranked out at the rate of 1 per half-hour in order to sell painting supplies by the uninformed. But in achieving the goals of making art accessible to the masses and democratizing it -- much like your average Rothko or abstract dentist office waiting room art achieves the "I could do that" reaction from the public. Ross actually created a massive, multi-decade, mixed media art form that not only invites the viewer to appreciate the performative parts of the show and the paintings but also to participate. The establishment art world would rather accept mediocre product that generates outrage (and is marketable at auction) and so it rejects Ross who instead focused his work on creating the emotion of calm zen. I wholeheartedly agree with you that displaying his paintings as they are is not the best way to present them. Each painting was actually made in triplicate as part of the performance production. They should be displayed that way, in sequence, with a screen showing the episode in which the piece was painted perhaps between the first and second paintings, and the third painting and the book page it was presented in coming after. This provides 5 unique contexts in which to appreciate the scene -- performance included. I might even argue that the entire body of his work is actually a single piece called "The Joy of Painting" that really has to be seen in its totality to be fully appreciated, but also allows the viewer to enjoy it in various fragments. His work is the product of a lifetime, it's informed by his experiences, it challenges establishment art, it tries to evoke a particular emotion, it's monumental, and it's almost exactly the kind of art society needs at the moment.