This guide will show you how to find vintage art online that you can use for your décor, printables, and other commercial products!
Disclaimer: This post may contain affiliate links, which means I’ll receive a small commission if you purchase through my link, at no extra cost to you.
As a self-proclaimed history nerd (okay, I may have a master’s degree in history to prove it), I am obsessed with vintage art. In particular, I love early 20th-century feminist posters and classic book covers. I use them as wall art, notebook covers, pins, magnets, and more.
But if you don’t know where to look, the internet can be a vast and somewhat overwhelming place. What do you search for? How do you filter it down? What can you use it for? What are the restrictions on commercial use?
If you’re feeling a little lost, this guide is for you.
Whether you have a project already in mind or are just looking to see what’s out there, one of the first things you need to consider when you’re looking at art is if it’s in the public domain. Because this question is so important, that’s where we’re going to start.
Public Domain? What’s that?
According to Stanford University, “The term “public domain” refers to creative materials that are not protected by intellectual property laws such as copyright, trademark, or patent laws. The public owns these works, not an individual author or artist. Anyone can use a public domain work without obtaining permission, but no one can ever own it.” (SOURCE)
It’s important you know something is public domain before you use it for commercial purposes. I wrote a post covering some of the things you need to know and the terms you should watch for. Click here to check it out.
Of course, there’s more flexibility if you’re just using the art you’ve found for personal purposes. Many works that are not public domain are still available for use if you’re not profiting from it.
Luckily, because we’re talking about vintage art specifically, most of what you find (unless it’s “vintage-inspired”) is going to be in the public domain.
But with the internet so vast, where are the best places to find vintage art?
I’m glad you asked!
Where can I find vintage art online?
There are so many places to find public-domain vintage art. So many! Archivists have been hard at work digitizing the art in their collections and it’s easier than ever to find the exact piece you want. (Also, archivists are the unsung heroes of the internet.)
I’ve compiled a list of the places that I use. There may be others—in fact, there are probably some amazing collections that I’ve missed. If you know of a place that I haven’t included in this list I’d love to know about it. Leave a comment below and I’ll add it.
Places you can find vintage art online
The Met – The Met’s collection is vast and one of my first stops for public-domain art. This is a great place to start on your art hunt. The website is easy to navigate and images are easy to filter. Check it out here.
The Städel Museum – This museum is home to a lot of famous European art and also has an easy-to-search digital collection. Check it out here.
National Gallery of Art – This is another major art museum with an incredible collection of well-known images. Like the others on this list, they have an easy-to-navigate online collection worth checking out. Check it out here.
The Art Institute of Chicago – This isn’t one I’ve used much, but it looks great. Make sure you filter the art down to “public domain”. It took me a few moments to find the public domain option. Check it out here.
The Cleveland Museum of Art – Another online gallery with a lot of portraits and other American artwork. Another one that I haven’t used a lot, but came across on a few searches and it looked promising. Check it out here.
Harvard Art Museums – It should come as no surprise that Harvard has a wide assortment of public domain art. Like the others, their site is fairly user-friendly and worth a look. Check it out here.
Yale University Art Gallery – This is another notable post-secondary institution that, unsurprisingly, has a good collection of public domain art. Check it out here.
The Smithsonian Museum – Another great collection of digital art with a lot of vintage pieces for you to utilize. (Also, if you’ve never been to any of the Smithsonian Museums, you’re missing out! Go!) Check it out here.
The New York Public Library – I love the New York Public Library Archives and it looks like they’ve recently updated the site’s interface to make it more user-friendly. This is another site with a lot of great material. Check it out here.
The Library of Congress – This is another notable USA archive with a lot of great images but is a little clunky and difficult to navigate. There are lots of book cover images here though, which may make it worth a look for some! Check it out here.
The British Library – Another great collection of art! Check it out here.
What can I do with the vintage art I find online?
Now that you have an idea of where to start on your art hunt, you may be wondering what you can do with it. While I often search for art when I have a particular project in mind, sometimes I just search to see what inspires me and find a project for it after the fact. So let’s take a look at some of the best and most common uses for vintage art.
Posters and Wall Décor
Many of the original illustrations in some of the most famous classic books are also in the public domain. This includes the art from Winnie the Pooh (not the Disney art!), Alice in Wonderland, Pride & Prejudice, and more! You can use this art in whatever way you wish, including posters. Alice in Wonderland wall art could be a wonderful gift for an elementary school teacher, for example, or Pride & Prejudice wall art for an English teacher.
Print-on-Demand Accessories
You can put your favorite art on print-on-demand products. Sites like Printify and Printful have more than just t-shirts and mugs! There are keychains, stickers, tote bags, shower curtains, blankets, hats, laptop sleeves, and more!
Books & Notebooks
If you do Amazon KDP (their print-on-demand service), you can use vintage art in your notebook covers. You can use it as is or modify it in some way to make a unique book cover or piece of art. For example, check out these notebooks.
Coloring Pages
Convert vintage art into line art for coloring pages! You can either use an AI program to generate the lines, or upload the art to Procreate or Adobe Illustrator and trace over the art in your own style. Then sell your coloring pages in bundles on Etsy, or upload the file to Amazon KDP and sell them as physical books.
Custom Fabric
Why not print some vintage fabric through a service like Spoonflower and use it to make bags, clothes, pillows, etc.? You can make Winnie the Pooh zipper bags with custom fabric utilizing public domain art. Or use vintage herb and plant images on a custom fabric and use it to sew tote bags, book sleeves, or reusable shopping bags.
Pins, Magnets & More
If you have a pin maker (like this We Are Memory Keepers button press), you can turn your favorite art into pins, magnets, keychains, and more! Wear them, sell them, or give them away!
Playing Cards, Flash Cards, Tarot Cards & Oracle Cards
Why not use vintage art to make your own playing cards, tarot cards, or oracle cards? You can use the art as is, or modify it to make it more unique. Which piece of classic art would represent the Hermit? The Lovers? The Wheel?
If you’re looking for a great source for printing custom cards like tarot cards and playing cards, I’d recommend checking out Shuffled Ink.
Other things you can use vintage art for include:
- Greeting cards
- Postcards
- Embroidery files
- Miniature art for dollhouses
- Stamps
- Cookie cutters
- Flashcards
- Board games
How do I modify, edit, or clean up vintage art?
There is a variety of software you can use to accomplish this. The best programs for image editing would be Adobe Illustrator and/or Photoshop, but they can be costly. If you’re looking for free options that are comparable (especially if you’re just trying it out or are more of a hobbyist/trying out a side hustle), check out GIMP and Inkscape. You can also do a lot of amazing things in Canva, which is a program I use a lot. There are some limitations on the free account and if you’re going to use Canva a lot I recommend getting the pro version. I wouldn’t recommend it if I didn’t use it—and I use it a lot. More than any other program.
Make sure that when you download the art you’re going to work with, you download it in the largest file size provided/the highest quality that they offer. It’s easier to make something smaller than it is to make something larger.
Make sure that when you’re doing your edits and modifications you do so with the size requirements of your finished product in mind. Don’t waste time editing an image that’s too small to use later for your notebook cover or t-shirt.
One of the great things about public domain art is that you can use it exactly as is—you don’t have to modify it at all. However, that also means that many other people are probably doing the same thing. You won’t be the first person to drop the Mona Lisa on a t-shirt, nor will you be the last. If you can, add something new to the art to make it unique. A great example of this is Grace Digital Art Co on Etsy. She takes vintage art and adds a modern twist. (Like this!)
Where can I sell my vintage art projects?
Anywhere and everywhere! Etsy, Printify, Printful, Amazon, Shopify, and wherever else you sell artsy projects. Obviously, some rules will vary from platform to platform—for example, if you’re selling print-on-demand projects on Etsy you need to disclose your production partners. But this is specific to the process by which your products are created and not a limitation on the types of projects or the art that you use!
What will you make with old art?
I’d love to know what you plan to make, or what you’ve made in the past! Show off your creations on Instagram and use hashtags #theserialcreative #vintageart #vintageartDIYs
Happy creating!
