Anniversary Fine Art Exhibition Illustration

Artists Entering the Public Domain in 2025

10 April 2024

Public Domain Day happens on the first day of each year. On 1 January 2025, many works protected by artists’ copyright law will expire in several regions for creators who died in 1954. These works will enter into the public domain and will no longer require additional copyright clearance. Some notable entries for next year are Henri Matisse, Frida Kahlo, and André Derain.

What does this mean in terms of usage? It means that additional artists’ clearance permissions for use are no longer required for these works. However, they do not become free to use from any source. Licensing fees still apply. To best explain this, it helps to think of an image as having two separate categories of copyright. Using the following example of “Red Room (Harmony in Red)", by Henri Matisse below:

The artist's copyright belongs to the estate of Henri Matisse. Non-editorial use of the image before 1 January 2025 would require a license from the artist's representative. This requirement ends when the artist's work falls into the public domain.
The digital file of the image also has ownership, and in most cases has a separate copyright. The requirement to obtain a license to use the image remains unchanged regardless of its public domain status.

“Red Room (Harmony in Red), by Henri Matisse. AKG726620

Scroll down to view the list we've compiled to help you prepare projects for publication in 2025 without needing to work around artists’ copyright. Please get in touch for more information, assistance with picture research, and to confirm copyright status in your region.

Click here for our album of works entering the public domain on 1st January 2025.