
A lot of art falls in the public domain. Now the Metropolitan Museum of Art has made it easier for you to use some of it. (And by “some” I mean “quite a lot”.)
For example, a high-resolution photo of Van Gogh’s painting Sunflowers is available for me to use free of charge. You too.
And if Munch’s The Scream is more your cup of tea, well, they’ve got you covered there too.
Have a look for yourself. If one of the 400,000+ pieces of art in their catalogue strikes your fancy, check for the Public Domain icon (a little 0
in a circle) and the download link. It appears that the public-domain content comprises 375,000 images, which, I think you’ll agree, is a lot.
Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to look at some J. M. W. Turner paintings.

The Lake of Zug, 1843
British,
Watercolor over graphite; 11 3/4 x 18 3/8 in. (29.8 x 46.6 cm)
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Marquand Fund, 1959 (59.120)
http://www.metmuseum.org/Collections/search-the-collections/337499
Thanks, The Met!
Thanks to my friend Kelly for pointing out this Engadget article on the topic.