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Art sources

Good places to find free(ish) artwork for blog posts.

Monochrome photograph of pueblo ruins in a desert mesa landscape. The image has a brownish cast and is rather dreamlike.
“Enchanted Mesa, Acoma, New Mexico” by Frederick Monsen. Gelatin silver print, 1900.
Source: National Gallery of Art / USB Art Collection / Public Domain

I’ve written before about art for posts and experimented with not having any for awhile. One of the nice features of Ghost was its integration with Getty-owned stock photography outlet Unsplash. That was a feature I was sorry to let go of.

I’ve spent a little bit of time looking for places that have royalty free art ethically sourced, so here’s what I’ve found.

Stock Photography

Stock photography sites like Unsplash have some interesting and colorful art, but because it’s stock it can feel a bit generic or you might see the same image around everywhere. Pay close attention to the licensing.

Public Domain / License Free

If you’re looking for older or more unique stuff, art galleries and libraries often have good collections. These are considerably less encumbered by licensing terms, since a lot of the work is in the public domain — but not all of it.

Some of these sources also helpfully provide alt text descriptions.

Endmark: No Silver Bullet