The short answer
Start from the museum's own full-size file and check its resolution: pixels divided by inches gives dots per inch, and you want about 300 for a small print seen up close or 150 for a large one seen from across a room. Print on matte or satin paper at home, or giclée on cotton rag for a print to keep, and ask a print shop for a proof before a large order.
A public-domain painting is free to print, but a good print still takes a little care. The difference between a print that looks like a museum reproduction and one that looks like a photocopy comes down to three things: the file, the paper and the color.
Start from the museum’s own file
Every painting page here, Wheat Field with Cypresses for one, links to the museum’s own image at the largest size the museum shares, under “Download”. Use that file, not a screenshot and not an image saved from a search result. A screenshot captures only the pixels on your screen, often a tenth of the real file, and saved web images are usually shrunk and recompressed. JPEG is fine for printing; if a museum offers a TIFF, it is the same picture with nothing thrown away, and worth using for very large prints.
Resolution: pixels per inch
Print resolution is simple arithmetic: pixels ÷ inches = dots per inch (dpi). A file 4,800 pixels wide printed 16 in wide gives 300 dpi; printed 32 in wide it gives 150.
- About 300 dpi is crisp even with your nose to the paper, which is what you want for small prints on a desk, a shelf or a hallway wall.
- About 150 dpi is plenty for a large print seen from across a room. Nobody inspects a 24 × 36 in print over a sofa from 6 in away.
Table of standard print sizes with the pixels each needs at 150 and 300 dots per inch.
| Print size | At 150 dpi | At 300 dpi |
|---|---|---|
| 8 × 10 in (20 × 25 cm) | 1,200 × 1,500 px | 2,400 × 3,000 px |
| 11 × 14 in (28 × 36 cm) | 1,650 × 2,100 px | 3,300 × 4,200 px |
| 12 × 16 in (30 × 41 cm) | 1,800 × 2,400 px | 3,600 × 4,800 px |
| 16 × 20 in (41 × 51 cm) | 2,400 × 3,000 px | 4,800 × 6,000 px |
| 18 × 24 in (46 × 61 cm) | 2,700 × 3,600 px | 5,400 × 7,200 px |
| 20 × 30 in (51 × 76 cm) | 3,000 × 4,500 px | 6,000 × 9,000 px |
| 24 × 36 in (61 × 91 cm) | 3,600 × 5,400 px | 7,200 × 10,800 px |
| 30 × 40 in (76 × 102 cm) | 4,500 × 6,000 px | 9,000 × 12,000 px |
| 36 × 48 in (91 × 122 cm) | 5,400 × 7,200 px | 10,800 × 14,400 px |
So an 8 × 10 in print wants 2,400 × 3,000 pixels at 300 dpi, a 16 × 20 in print needs the same 2,400 × 3,000 pixels at 150 dpi, and a 24 × 36 in print needs 3,600 × 5,400 pixels at 150 dpi. Each painting page works this out for you: its print table lists the standard sizes for that painting’s shape and the dpi its largest file gives at each size, from “crisp up close” to “soft up close”.
Shape: why some sizes say “trims 3 %”
Paintings come in every proportion, and paper comes in a few. When a painting’s shape is within about 6 % of a standard size, it can fill that paper edge to edge, losing a sliver from two sides; the print table says how much, “trims 3 %” for example. When no standard size is close, print the whole painting with a white border instead, then trim it or hide the border under a mat. The frame sizes guide explains how a mat makes an odd-shaped print fit a standard frame.
Paper
- Home printers: matte or satin (lustre) photo paper. Matte has no glare and suits most paintings; satin gives deeper blacks. Gloss looks like a photograph, not a painting.
- Prints to keep: giclée on cotton rag paper, made with pigment inks. Pigment prints on good paper resist fading far longer than dye inks on ordinary photo paper.
- Canvas: best kept for paintings that were painted on canvas. It loses a little fine detail, which can flatter an oil painting, and needs no glass.
Leave a 1 to 2 in (2.5 to 5 cm) white border around the image if the print will go behind a mat; the mat then overlaps the border, not the painting.
Color
Museum photographs are made under controlled light and color-managed from camera to file. Home printers and laptop screens usually are not, so expect your print to differ a little: often darker, sometimes a touch warmer or cooler. Turn your screen brightness down before judging a file, print a small test strip first, and for a large or costly print ask the shop for a proof. Old paintings are often darker than people remember; that is the varnish, and it is faithful.
Where to go next
Before you print, the art size calculator tells you which print size suits your wall. The license page sets out what the museums’ open-access terms allow, and the public-domain guide explains it in plain words. Then choose a painting from a room, such as the living room, and use its download links.
Questions people ask
Is it legal to print and sell these paintings?
Yes. The paintings here are in the public domain and the museums have released their photographs under CC0, so you may print, sell and change them without asking. The license page explains the details.
Should I use a home printer or a print shop?
A good home photo printer is fine up to about 13 × 19 in on photo or fine-art paper. For anything larger, for canvas, or for a print you want to last for decades, use a print shop that offers giclée printing with pigment inks.
Canvas or paper?
Paper, under glass or acrylic, shows the most detail and suits drawings, watercolors and most paintings. Canvas suits oil paintings that were painted on canvas, hung without glass; it softens fine detail a little, which can flatter a painting.
Why does my print look darker than the screen?
A screen shines light through the image, while paper only reflects the light in the room, and many screens are set brighter than print shops expect. Lower your screen brightness when you judge colors, ask the shop for a proof, and light the print well once it is framed.
Updated October 16, 2026. These are rules of thumb that designers start from; your room has the final say.