When I realized there were thousands of pieces of art available for free online I knew I had to dig in and share my knowledge with you all! I looked through several sources to find the best and most reputable sources to download images for your own use. I personally either print them myself if on a small enough piece of paper or had larger prints ordered online and shipped to my house.

There are tons of artwork available for free on the public domain. Open Access or Public domain artwork is free for commercial or non commercial use. Typically any work created before 1923 are available, works created by government agencies, artists who release their works, orphaned works where the original copyright owner cant be found or expired copyrights.

You may even see these same pieces available for purchase from private sellers. You don’t have to buy those – you can legally download and print them yourself at Fedex, CVS, Walgreens, ect.

My tip is to print them on matte paper like cardstock or canvas that way they look more realistic.

Download my favorites

Landscapes

Nautical

Botanical

Animals

Clouds

People

Where can I find free art?

• Artvee *
• The Art Institute of Chicago *
• Smithsonian Institute *
• National Gallery of Art
• Yale University Art Gallery Collection
• The Met Museum *
• Mauritshuis
• Cleveland Museum of Art
• Getty Museum Collection
• * These are the easiest to browse especially if you aren’t sure what you’re looking for.