Can You Use This Artwork? A Practical Copyright Check

“This painting is hundreds of years old, so it must be free to use.” That is only half true. The artwork may be in the public domain, while the photograph, scan, or restoration you downloaded is governed by a separate set of rights.

The same confusion appears across art forms. A photograph of a sculpture is not the sculpture. A product shot of a chair is not the chair. A documentation video of a performance is not the performance. This guide offers a practical check you can run before publishing or selling an image. It is not legal advice; for a brand campaign, a product line, or a large license, consult a lawyer.

Step one: separate the layers

Most art images involve three layers:

1. The work itself. Copyright in the composition, form, image, or expression, with a limited term.
2. The reproduction. A photographer, scanner, or institution may claim rights in the photograph, scan, color correction, or 3D capture.
3. The platform’s terms. Even when copyright has expired, a museum may restrict bulk downloading, resale, or promotional use through website terms, contracts, or database rights.

“Public domain” usually addresses the first layer. It does not automatically clear the other two.

Step two: identify the art form

Copyright applies differently depending on what the work is.

Paintings, drawings, and prints

The work is protected for the author’s life plus a term that varies by country. A faithful photograph of a flat, public-domain painting is treated differently from a photograph of a three-dimensional object, and the rules are not identical everywhere.

Photographs

The photograph is the work. A photograph of a public-domain painting can still be protected as a photograph in some jurisdictions if it has original expression. Conversely, a purely mechanical reproduction may not attract new copyright in the United States, but that analysis does not automatically travel.

Sculpture and three-dimensional objects

A photograph of a sculpture captures a three-dimensional work, and the photographer may have a separate copyright in the angle, lighting, and composition. If the sculpture is still in copyright, you need permission for both the sculpture and the photograph, unless an exception applies.

Architecture

Buildings can be protected as architectural works. Photographing a building from a public place is permitted in some countries under freedom of panorama, but the scope differs sharply. France and Italy are more restrictive than the United States or Germany. Interior shots, detailed façade studies, and commercial use need extra care.

Design, furniture, and applied arts

A chair, lamp, or textile can involve copyright, design registration, trademark, and patent rights at the same time. A product photo may be protected even if the object is not. Do not assume that “it is just a chair” removes the issue.

Performance and installation art

The documentation has its own photographer or videographer, the performers may have rights, and the installation may be site-specific. A video of a performance is not a free substitute for the work, and excerpting it can raise both copyright and moral-rights issues.

Digital and AI-generated work

Digital files can be protected as works, and software interfaces and code may have separate protection. Rules for AI-generated output are still developing and differ by jurisdiction. Do not treat “generated by a model” as automatically free; check the tool’s terms and the input materials.

Step three: check the term

Term rules are local. Common baselines:

• China: generally the author’s life plus 50 years, ending on 31 December of the 50th year after death.
• European Union: generally life plus 70 years.
• United States: in 2026, works published in 1930 or earlier are generally in the public domain; later years enter year by year. Unpublished works and foreign works can follow different rules.

The same work can be public domain in one market and protected in another. Decide where you will publish or sell before you rely on a term.

Also check:

• Joint works: the term usually runs from the last surviving author.
• Anonymous or pseudonymous works: different starting points.
• Photographs and applied art: separate rules in some countries.
• Public-domain status of the work does not automatically make a high-resolution scan public domain.

Step four: read the rights statement

Open-access museums usually state rights at the object level. Look for:

• Public Domain / CC0: the institution waives rights in its reproduction. Commercial use is allowed, and attribution is usually optional.
• CC BY: commercial use is allowed with attribution, a license link, and an indication of changes.
• CC BY-SA: adaptations must be shared under the same license.
• CC BY-NC: commercial use is prohibited. “Commercial” is not always obvious; client work, ad-supported content, and paid products usually count.
• Rights reserved / contact us: ask for permission.

Read the object page, not just the institution’s open-access landing page. A collection can mix public-domain works with in-copyright works.

For example, The Met Open Access marks image rights on many object pages. The Rijksmuseum publishes open data and high-resolution files with separate terms. The Art Institute of Chicago states image permissions on object records.

If a source gives no clear license, do not assume that “it is old” is enough. Be especially careful with:

• installation shots taken by the museum
• images with wall labels, frames, or conservation before-and-after views
• re-colored or upscaled versions by third parties
• auction-house and stock-library scans

Step five: run a commercial-use checklist

Before placing an image in a poster, packaging, website hero, or advertisement, confirm:

1. Work identity: artist, date, title, accession number.
2. Author’s death date: for the term calculation.
3. Source page: save the URL and a screenshot, with the access date.
4. Rights statement: Public Domain, CC0, CC BY, or Rights reserved.
5. Reproduction license: whether the image itself is separately licensed.
6. Use type: advertising, merchandise, editorial, or internal proposal.
7. Attribution: artist, title, institution, license link.
8. Changes: cropping, color grading, collage, and whether you must say so.
9. Other rights: portrait rights, trademarks, property releases, cultural heritage restrictions.
10. Jurisdiction: the law of the market where you publish or sell.

Keep the checklist with the file. If a client asks where the image came from, you can show a chain of evidence instead of a screenshot with no history.

Common myths

• “It appeared in image search, so it is usable.” Search results carry no license.
• “I credited the source, so I have permission.” Credit is an obligation, not a license.
• “Public domain means I can do anything.” You can adapt the work, but new rights can arise in your adaptation, and trademark, portrait, and cultural heritage rules still apply.
• “Non-commercial use is always safe.” Non-commercial use can still infringe reproduction or communication rights, and CC BY-NC still has conditions.
• “The museum did not watermark it.” Technical accessibility is not legal permission.
• “It is a photo of a sculpture, so only the photo matters.” The sculpture and the photo can be separate rights.

A conservative default

If you do not want to run a legal analysis for every asset:

• Use images explicitly marked CC0 / Public Domain.
• Download from the institution’s own object page, not a third-party repost.
• Keep the object URL, rights statement, and download date.
• Avoid in-copyright works in commercial projects unless you have written permission.
• Replace images with unclear provenance instead of gambling on “it should be fine.”

Wikimedia Commons is useful for cross-checking, but read each file page. The category page is not the license page; the file page lists the author, source, and license template.

The point

Copyright work is not about memorizing years. It is about building an evidence chain: whose work it is, where the image came from, what you are allowed to do, and what you actually did. Record those four things and most risks disappear before production starts.

To find more open collections, browse the digital collections category.