When investigating the copyright status of an artwork in the United States, one reliable rule is that an artwork is no longer protected by copyright if it was published anywhere in the world prior to July 1, 1909 (the date on which the Copyright Act of 1909 became effective). Under this rule, all of the artworks illustrated in these publications, published prior to 1909, are in the public domain in the United States, regardless of when the artist died.

1. John Singer Sargent, Study from Life, 1891. From: Meynell, The Work of John S. Sargent. New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1903.
2. El Greco, The Assumption of the Virgin, 1577-79. From: Manuel B. Cossio, El Greco. Madrid: Victoriano Suarez, 1908.
3. Alfred Stieglitz, The Hand of Man, 1902. From: Camera Work, No. 1. New York: January 1903.