100 Free Stunning Vintage Art Prints to Download
Free Vintage Art Prints
Vintage art prints have become extremely popular in traditional and transitional design in the past few years. There is something so gorgeous about an antique painting and the warmth it brings to a room. Did you know you can download a huge assortment of art for FREE online?! In this post, I’ll show you how I find free art online, resize, edit, print and use it in my home. PLUS, you’ll get easy access to my favorites!
A quick look around my home will show you I’m a sucker for a vintage art collection too. Whether it’s a tasteful gallery wall or a singular piece of wall art, a vintage-inspired painting or sketch is my absolute go-to.
Where to Buy Vintage Art
Vintage art can be purchased from a variety of stores. There are many sites online that have authentic vintage and antique art for sale. However, you’ll notice you may pay top dollar for an authentic painting or sketch.
The good news is there are many affordable places to source art! Here are a few of my favorite places to find vintage collections of art:
- Thrift Stores. Thrifting vintage art is my absolute favorite! I have sourced so many beautiful paintings from thrift stores and the best part is, they often are already framed in a gorgeous antique frame! This saves so much money.
- Flea Markets. Flea markets are another great place to access some amazing pieces. It takes some digging, but often sellers at flea markets want to turn over inventory and may be open to offers on the art they sell!
- Facebook marketplace. Always my top go-to before I purchase anywhere… So many art sellers sell on FB marketplace and now with shipping options, you can even order art from out of state!
Where can I find free vintage images?
Thankfully, you don’t have to go to an art auction and pay top dollar to get the vintage art look you love. There are so many places you can find free vintage art prints and digital downloads of non-copyrighted works of art. Here are a few of the places I source art prints for my home!
- National Gallery of Art
- New York Public Library
- Smithsonian Institute
- Wikimedia Commons
- Getty Museum Collection
- Art Insitute Chicago
- The Cleveland Museum of Art
All of these websites are part of what is called The Public Domain. The public domain refers to a collection of art that does not have copyright protection. This means you can get these free images in the form of instant downloads in high resolution without violating any copyright laws!
Skip The Hassle of Searching For Art:
It can be overwhelming and time-consuming to search through these giant online galleries to find what you’re looking for! Thankfully, I’ve made this super easy for you by creating several curated art galleries right here!
Access My Free Vintage Art Prints Collection now!
You can also access my huge gallery of vintage art prints right here! I have curated a huge collection of vintage art paintings, sketches, and drawings. No need to sift through thousands of images to find what you are looking for. I did all the work for you.
Want More FREE Vintage Art Prints?!
Here is my exclusive curated collection of over 100 vintage art prints. Simply click on the image you want and it will bring you to it’s PDF page. Each download is available in an 8×10 size but can easily be resized on Canva as I explain later.
For your convenience, I’ve split the downloads into several categories: Scenery, Portraits, and Sketches.
Scenery
Portraits
Sketches
The Best Way to Search For Vintage Art Online
If you are searching online for the perfect piece of art and can’t seem to find what you are looking for, try some of these tips for searching for vintage art online:
Try zeroing in on the style of art you are looking for. I like to search by art type. For example:
- Sketch
- Pencil sketch
- Oil painting
- Watercolor
- Painting
- Drawing
My favorites are pencil sketches and watercolors. These two types of art blend in so well with transitional decor styles like mine.
Another way I like to search is by what type of picture you are looking for. For example:
- portrait
- nature
- water
- photographs
- architecture
- buildings
- homes
- animals
- motherhood
- children
- baby
- Historical
I have found so many beautiful works of art using these search terms. Whether you are searching a free public domain for free downloads OR searching Facebook marketplace, these search terms will help you find what you are looking for!
How to Download and Resize Free Printables
It is so easy to download free art online. If you aren’t tech-savvy or aren’t quite sure how to resize and print these images, here are my top tips!
- Log on to one of the sites mentioned above that are part of the public domain (My fave is the Smithsonian Institute).
- Enter your search terms into the search bar. (For example: “Lily watercolor”, “sketch of a little boy”, “mother and baby”).
- Sift through your results and adjust your search terms to get more options.
- Once you select the image you want, hit download! (Or skip all this and click on & download one of my free downloads here).
- I use Canva to resize my images. If you don’t have a Canva account, don’t worry! It’s SO easy to create a free account. Canva lets you create a custom-size download. This is the easiest way to resize an image in high resolution.
6. Once you log onto Canva, select “create a design”, then at the bottom of the pop-up window is a “custom size” option. I like to resize it to 8×10 in. If I need a different size, I go back in later and adjust.
7. After your download is resized correctly, it’s time to print!
The Best Way To Print Free Vintage Art
Here are the best ways to print your beautiful art downloads:
- For smaller images (8×10, 5×7, 4×6) I print on my home printer! I like to use either good-quality card stock or watercolor paper. These options provide the best look of authentic art. You almost can’t tell they are downloads!
- For larger images, I like to print at Staples print center. There are so many places you can print these images though. Walgreens, Shutterfly or even a local print shop are all great options!
- To create a very authentic look, try getting a vintage art download printed on canvas! Canvas prints look so real and allow you to display your art in so many beautiful ways!
The Best Way to Display Vintage Pictures in Your Home
When it comes to displaying vintage pictures in your home, the possibilities are endless! Here are a few of my favorite ways to display vintage art printables:
- In a Gallery Wall. Create a beautiful vintage art gallery wall! Find multiple images with similar art styles and download in various sizes. You can purchase frames that match or try an eclectic mixed look!
- As a background for your Frame TV.
- As a large-scale accent wall piece.
- In picture frames on shelves in living room or office. (Really wherever you have shelves that need styling… These art prints are great space fillers!)
Turn Your FREE Print into a Faux Vintage Oil Painting!
Check out my quick and easy hack to make my vintage prints look like an old oil painting. Seriously, it works!
Curated Vintage Art Gallery Collection
If you’d rather download 15 awesome, hand-picked art prints in one shot, check out my curated gallery collection from the Smithsonian Art Institute!
FAQ About Free Vintage Art Prints
Where can I find free vintage images?
How to make your own vintage art?
All of these images are not under copyright law! This means you can use Canva or another photo editing tool to make changes. You can also print these downloads on a variety of surfaces to create different looks!
What is vintage art style called?
The term vintage refers to any artifact that is over 20 years old BUT less than 100 years old. Technically, once an item is over 100 years old it is considered an antique. However, the term vintage is used loosely and usually is used to describe old-fashioned items.
What is retro vs vintage?
Retro refers to new items that are designed to look like items from the past. Vintage refers to authentically older items.
Thanks for Viewing My Vintage Art Gallery!
Which style of vintage art is your favorite? Let me know below!
If you enjoyed this vintage-inspired art, check out my posts below.
