One of my favorite gallery wall tricks is filling in gaps with free vintage art.
Today I’m going to share with you my favorite sites to find vintage public domain art, and how you could use these pieces in your own gallery wall style.
💡 TIPS & TRICKS
To find your gallery wall style, read through the Style Guide archive and see which one feels most “you.”
Plus — awesome bonus time — I’ve got two vintage botanical downloads at the bottom of this article from a project I just finished!
See, there’s a spot in my hallway that has been begging for a few pieces of art, and I finally came across the perfect ones in the Biodiversity Library:
You might like them as-is, which is a matter of preference. The vibe I was going for was more refined glam so I opted to temper the weathered look.
This meant retouching the illustrations by changing the background from vintage yellow to light gray. Then I re-cropped the art onto a larger canvas.
Now you could print poster size if you wanted to.
Scroll down to see some of my favorite resources for finding free public domain vintage art.
Then keep on scrolling to the bottom to download super high-res versions of my botanical printables, just in time for spring.
Free Vintage Art Sites
The Graphics Fairy
Our first stop is over at Karen’s library, The Graphics Fairy.
I come here often, especially when I’m searching for filler pieces for eclectic gallery walls. There is so much to look at and enjoy here — I like the unusual stuff the best.
Like vintage skeletons of snakes, for example. Or a chart chronicling the diseases of horses.
Consider this site if you’re curating: Industrial, modern farmhouse or eclectic gallery walls.
Retrographik
Next, let’s head to Retrographik, which has one of the best little collections of art nouveau posters.
You can also stumble across some fun midcentury travel and advertising posters.
Consider this site if you’re curating: Boho, midcentury, modern glam or eclectic gallery walls
New York Public Library Digital Collection
The New York Public Library Digital Collection can turn up some amazing free vintage art, especially if you’re looking for old black & white photographs.
My favorites are the old photos of entertainers and cityscapes from long ago.
There’s even a collection of old Halloween street photos that would make a nice display during that time of year.
Consider this site if you’re curating: Minimalist, Industrial, Modern Glam or eclectic gallery walls
Biodiversity Heritage Library
The Biodiversity Heritage Library is a treasure trove of botany, biology and scientific illustrations.
There’s something in there for everyone. I personally gravitate toward art of butterflies and oceanic wonders.
Consider this site if you’re curating: Boho, Modern Coastal, Industrial or eclectic gallery walls.
NASA Commons
You could scroll all day long through the NASA commons Flickr feed.
It boasts vintage photographs and illustrations from the earliest space missions.
You can also get into deep space photography, then go down a rabbit hole of reading all the captions, which are great.
Consider this site if you’re curating: Industrial, minimalist, space-themed or eclectic gallery walls
Illustrations from Ernst Haeckel’s Kunstformen der Natur (1904)
I’m a bit of an Ernst Haeckel super fan. I love the out-of-this-world style applied to these scientific illustrations.
They are kind of like Rorschach tests. Only instead of being random blobs they are super structured and symmetric illustrations.
Consider this site if you’re curating: Boho, modern coastal, industrial or eclectic gallery walls.
Rijksmuseum
You could get lost searching through the wonders of the Rijksmuseum. This site requires you to create an account to download art here. It’s entirely worth the effort, though, I promise.
Rijksmuseum has everything from the macabre to scientific illustrations to fine art.
Consider this site if you’re curating: Boho, modern glam, industrial, minimalist or eclectic gallery walls.
The Public Domain Review
The Public Domain Review is amazing for coming up with interesting curiosities collections, alongside art you may recognize, like the “Salad Oil Style” of Jan Toorop.
Consider this site if you’re curating: Boho, modern glam, industrial, minimalist or eclectic gallery walls
New Old Stock
New Old Stock is difficult to search (good luck).
But if you have faith and keep scrolling, you are bound to find something that tickles your fancy.
The site specializes in vintage photographs of everyday happenings.
Consider this site if you’re curating: Industrial, minimalist, mid-century modern or eclectic gallery walls.
Free Vintage Art Download
These free vintage art printables are huge: 24×36 inches and 300 dpi.
I retouched the originals by removing the yellowed background in favor of gray. They are now cropped artfully in resized files.
You can enjoy them for personal use only. No reselling or otherwise shady business. Play nice.
🛒 IN THE SHOP
If you like botanical printables, check these out.
Swipe My Free Art Resource File
Free Vintage Art: Bookmark for later
Vicki
June 15, 2020 at 9:20 amHow do you get these printed? Will I be able to get some printed at a Staples for example, and on a good paper?
Vanessa
June 15, 2020 at 11:35 amHi Vicki — yes, you can go to Staples or a local print shop. Here are my favorite online print shops (some of which have paper options, as well): https://littlegoldpixel.com/where-to-print-printables/ -V
Elroy
October 10, 2020 at 2:42 amHow did you achieve the floating rose gold frame? Looks uncommlonly stunning.
Vanessa
October 13, 2020 at 1:06 pmHi Elroy — it is beautiful, isn’t it? I can’t lay claim to the actual framework because it’s just a Photoshop mockup that I purchased from mrmockup.com