Public Domain Image Archive—A New Wonderland Of 10K Free Artworks To Get Lost In

From left: Image from Japanese Design Magazine Shin-Bijutsukai (1902); Nathaniel Olds (1837) by Jeptha Homer Wade; Leaning Tower of Pizza, Quincy, Massachusetts. (1984) by John Margolies; “He Asked Her Whither She Was Going” (1922) by Harry Clarke from The Fairy Tales of Charles Perrault. Images via Public Domain Image Archive

The Public Domain Review has launched a new digital collection that’s turning history into a wonderful open picture book. The Public Domain Image Archive (PDIA), unveiled on January 8, 2025, offers over 10,000 historical images for free use, making it easier than ever to explore and share the past. The archive features a wide range of digitized visuals, from ancient architecture to ornate decorations, offering a snapshot of art and culture across centuries.

It can be cumbersome to sift through thousands of paintings, illustrations, and photographs. Where the PDIA stands out is how captivating its user experience actually is.

Screenshot via Public Domain Image Archive

Visitors can browse by themes like war, design, or the occult, by artists, or styles in the more traditional yet aesthetically pleasing catalog view.  Or they can take advantage of the ‘infinite view’—our favorite—which sucks you into a seemingly endless world of artworks to scroll through.

Screenshot via Public Domain Image Archive

For those who are feeling fortuitous or are plainly time-starved today, the ‘shuffle view’ serves up three random, “serendipitous” images, akin to a three-card tarot spread of your past, present, and future.

The archive doesn’t just stop at beautiful visuals. Many of the images are accompanied by links to in-depth articles from The Public Domain Review, adding historical context to each piece.

Nathaniel Olds (1837) by Jeptha Homer Wade. Image via The Cleveland Museum of Art / Public Domain Image Archive

“She caught Toto by the ear” (1900) from The Wizard of Oz by artist W. W. Denslow. Image via Library of Congress / Public Domain Image Archive

Because the items in the PDIA are public domain, users are free to use the images however they like. Want to print them as posters? Go for it. Looking for designs to include in a project or even sell? That’s fair game, too. We did, however, come across some images that may be tethered to a few restrictions (attribution required) in certain countries.

At the time of writing, the PDIA hosts 10,046 hand-picked, out-of-copyright images. The Public Domain Review intends to introduce additional works weekly, keeping the collection fresh.

Photo from Apollo 11 mission (1969) from NASA. Image via NASA / Flickr: The Commons / Public Domain Image Archive

Image from Japanese Design Magazine Shin-Bijutsukai (1902). Image via Smithsonian Libraries and Archives / Internet Archive / Public Domain Image Archive

You Auto have a Happy Hallowe’en (1908). Image via Digital Maryland / Public Domain Image Archive

F. Collis Wildman, “Pretty Desdamone” (1905). Image via Duke University Libraries / Public Domain Image Archive

Guide for Constructing the Letter X (ca. 1595) by Joris Hoefnagel. Image via The Getty / Public Domain Image Archive

From The Geometric Landscapes of Lorenz Stoer (1567). Image via University of Tübingen / Public Domain Image Archive

Extracting a “Man” From a Pile of Draughts (1883) from Scientific Amusements, translated from the French of Gaston Tissand. Image via Internet Archive / California Digital Library / Public Domain Image Archive

Phrenology Diagram from Vaught’s Practical Character Reader (1902) by L. A. Vaught. Image via Internet Archive / Library of Congress / Public Domain Image Archive

Eight Shadow Figures (ca. 1842) by Utagawa Hiroshige. Image via Rijksmuseum / Public Domain Image Archive

Tesseracts (1904) by Charles Howard Hinton from The Fourth Dimension. Image via Boston College Libraries / Internet Archive / Public Domain Image Archive

Image from Japanese Design Magazine Shin-Bijutsukai (1902). Image via Internet Archive / Library of Congress

Shoulder Straightening With Towel (1917) by Mr Phelan from Physical Training for Business Men. Image via Smithsonian Libraries and Archives / Internet Archive / Public Domain Image Archive

Simultaneous Contrasts (1895) by Mark Maycock from A Class-Book of Color: including color definitions, color scaling, and the harmony of colors.  Image via Internet Archive / The Getty / Public Domain Image Archive

Volume 10, pg. 19 of Unai no tomo: Catalogues of Japanese Toys (1924) by Unai no tomo. Image via The Metropolitan Museum / Public Domain Image Archive

Chladni Figures (1787) by Ernst Chladni from Entdeckungen über die Theorie des Klange. Image via Max Planck Institute / Public Domain Image Archive

[via Open Culture and Public Domain Review, images via Public Domain Image Archive]