What is public domain art?

Creative works not protected by copyright are considered "public domain." They exist in what we call the commons, the space that belongs to everyone, they're free to enjoy, share, and build on without restriction. The challenge is knowing what is and isn't in the public domain. Every country has different laws and copyrights with their own stipulations, restrictions, and timelines. In other words: Public domain belongs to everyone, but not everyone equally or all at once—and that's why your source for public domain art is more important than ever.

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How do I determine what's in the public domain?

Anything made before 1870 is probably good to go. Works made prior to 1870 pre-date modern copyright laws that extend rights beyond the average lifespan of its creators, their estates, and corporate owners.

This is what the Pubic Domain Review suggests regarding copyright:

• a term which lasts for 70 years after the creator’s death (relevant in UK, Canada, most of the EU, and South America);
• a term which lasts for 50 years after the creator’s death (relevant to most of Africa and Asia);
• a term which lasts for 95 years after the publication of a film or book, including any artworks featured within (relevant solely to the United States).

The above guidelines are pretty simple, but the reality is more complicated, especially in the US where corporations have the power to buy, sell, and own a work for however long they "maintain" ownership. If you want a robust rundown on copyright law, digital copies, and flowcharts (who doesn't love a flow chart?), check out the Public Domain Review for more.

Creative Commons v. Public Domain?

It's surprisingly difficult getting your work into the public domain. The reason is a little counter-intuitive. In most countries, the moment you make something you automatically have rights to its ownership—and yet, those same authorities do not easily certify your surrender of them.

That's where Creative Commons comes in. It's an international non-profit with a standardized list of licenses you can use in place of Public Domain. Here's what to look out for when browsing work in the Public Domain and Creative Commons.

Where to find Public Domain Art.

There are many places you can find art in the public domain and creative commons. You can find a particularly long list on the Public Domain Review's sources. If you want the most robust selection—just go there.

Aggregators

Internet Archive

Great for unexpected and contemporary sources. The real strength of the Internet Archive is its library of music, movies, and non-art files. Score: 10/10

E-Manuscripta

If you want public domain text, letters, sheet music, or maps—this might be the best resource. It's also well documented and organized. Score 10/10

Paris Musées

The collection here is vast and covers the entire world. It's not just French. It's also well-marked and organized with download links. Highly recommend. Score: 10/10

Wikimedia Commons

Everyone knows Wikimedia. The strength of this aggregator is that it's easy to use. Rights are (generally) easy to look up and understand. Score: 9/10

Curationist

This is a new aggregator with a solid interface. I like the metadata it retrieves, but it loses points for not providing specific or logical file names. Score 7/10

Flickr: The Commons

Flikr is great for archival photographs. It's got gems. However, it loses some points for its groups-based organization and lack of easy to look-up licenses. Score: 5/10

Providers

British Library

Massive catalog. Easy to navigate. Quick and convenient to look up. It's famous for a reason and a great place to look for public domain maps, illustrations, and artwork. Check out its digital collections for public domain resources.

Note: As of publication, this resource is still recovering from a cyber-attack.

New York Public Library

Just like its British cousin, the New York Public Library is vast. The best place to look is in the section titled research. The online collections there have everything from maps to archival photography.

National Gallery of Art

Over 60,000 images available for download with lots of filters, easy to reference licenses, and open sourced data backed up on Github. This is a great resource for old paintings, prints, and photography.

Rijks Museum

It feels like everyone working in indie rpgs already knows about the Rijks Museum. The best part of Rijks are its images which are fully scanned and often massive—perfect for print projects. Look for the CC0 license.

The Met

New York's premier museum has a solid online collection. Here's an underused hack—use the photographs of their sculptures and other artifacts and adapt them for your art. Look for the CC0 license.

The Art Institute of Chicago

Thousands of artworks that you can filter for public domain. The Art Institute of Chicago is particularly rich with public domain paintings, portraits, and landscapes from early 20th century artists.

Cleveland Museum of Art

Why is Cleveland's collection so good? I'll never know. It's huge, diverse, and it's easy to navigate. Just click on open source and you'll find paintings, sculpture, and jewelry from all over the world.

Science History Institute

You'd think the Science History Institute's digital collection would be solely science-related, but that's where you're wrong. Search for copyright free images and you'll find postage stamps, periodicals, and even advertisements.

Old Book Illustrations

If you're in the market for woodcuts, lino prints, and sketches from the old books, particularly Victorian-era books, this website is a great place to start. It's relatively easy to search, but it's easy to get lost. Use your bookmark function.

SMK Open

Fellow explorer, Markus, recommended this resource and it's already an all-timer. In addition to being very easy to use and review, it also has features that allow you to search by color and 3D .stl files! That's right, you can 3D print their sculptures.

Prelinger Archives

If you're looking for films, commercials, and other early 20th century to contemporary video assets, the Prelinger Archives are the best. I particularly love the old b-roll and b-movie footage.

Comic Books Online

Shout out to Nael who recommended this gem. Be aware that free to read doesn't necessarily mean free to use—so look out for the words "public domain" and be especially careful. That said, it's golden age comics, what's not to love?

Last notes on public domain art.

You can find public domain art everywhere, but confirming its accuracy will always be a challenge. Even when the work is in the public domain, companies will still try to claim ownership (Looking at you Getty). Always do the following:

• Confirm that the image you're using is public domain or creative commons.
• Look for a double confirmation through aggregators like Wikimedia.
• Be prepared to change your work if you get a copyright strike.

Thanks for reading this far. If you have a source online that you like, drop me a line on social or share it in the comments below. I used to have a version of this list on my old website, and I'm finally adding it back.

See you on the next one, until then, I'll keep exploring.

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