I was curious about the copyright situation of photos of old paintings that you referenced in your last paragraph. I found this article that explains their stat

I was curious about the copyright situation of photos of old paintings that you referenced in your last paragraph. I found this article that explains their status: https://www.huffpost.com/entry/museum-paintings-copyright_b_1867076 https://www.huffpost.com/entry/museum-paintings-copyright_b_.... The bottom line: > [T]hose who are hesitant to use photos of works that are in the public domain […] should know that under the law if the image is “slavish,” a mere reproduction, a plain unadorned exact image, they can use it and do not have to pay anyone a licensing fee.