The Last Museum, an online search engine without any names or credits attached to it, now offers up images of some 6.3 million artworks held in museum collections around the world, searchable by “theme, style, subject, vibes, or any description you can imagine.”
As reported by Colossal, many of the works are in the public domain, and “if there’s copyright attached to the images, they’re available in accordance with fair use, which means they’re available at a low resolution for browsing online but not reproducing, and they’re shared strictly for educational and non-commercial purposes.”
Related Articles
Works by Matisse, Frida Kahlo, and Robert Capa Are Entering the Public Domain, With Some Caveats
Landmark Copyright Lawsuit Cariou v. Prince is Settled
The site, reachable only via an encrypted Proton e-mail address, claims to include works dating from 3,000 BCE to the present and draws from some of the world’s biggest museums, among them the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the British Museum, the Rijksmuseum, and many more. A message on its “About” page reads: “This website is completely free to use. We are not affiliated with any museums or galleries, and we do not own any of the images.” It notes that every artwork image links back to its original source, and “if you believe there are any copyright issues, contact us.”
The numbers cited on the site include references to 3,679 museums, 270,000 artists, and 304 cultures. Among a few suggested search terms are “propaganda poster,” “abstract geometric shapes,” “japanese woodblock print of birds,” and “surrealist dreams.” At the top of the “About” page is an image of Thomas Cole’s 1842 painting The Voyage of Life: Youth (pictured above), taken from the site of the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C.