Editorial standards

How we compile and review the archive

Artifact World Gallery is a curated window onto more than 190,000 public-domain artworks. This page explains where the corpus comes from, how each page is compiled, and how we review and correct it.

Where the corpus comes from

Every artwork in the archive is in the public domain or released under a CC0 dedication, drawn from open collections published by the world's museums and galleries. We do not host or sell rights to copyrighted work. Image masters are the institutions' own public-domain reproductions; we link each work back to its holding venue and, where known, its Wikidata entity.

How descriptions are compiled

Entity pages — artworks, artists, movements, periods, genres, subjects and venues — combine structured facts from the corpus (dates, media, dimensions, classifications, the holding venue) with compiled summaries. Summaries are drafted from public-domain reference material and the structured record, then edited for accuracy. Relationships between works — visual similarity, shared subject, shared movement, and artist lineage — are computed from the corpus and rendered as the "why related" graph rails you see on each page. Facts are never fabricated: where a field is unknown, the page omits it rather than guessing.

Review & corrections

Compiled prose is reviewed by the named editor before publication, and the archive is curated continuously. If you spot an error — a misattribution, a wrong date, a mislabelled venue — email corrections@artifactworldgallery.com with the page URL and the correction. We review every report and update the record.

Who edits this

The archive is compiled and edited by Alexander Knigge, Editor & Founder, with the Artifact World Gallery editorial team. Read more about how the project works on the About page.