Browse the collections for artworks with a CC0 license as part of the Smithsonian's Open Access Initiative,

Dreamscape is an escape from the relentless pace of cityscapes. A matrix caught between reality and a dream. A moment frozen amongst the chaos there is calm.

An abstract aerial view of a sand dune at sunset at Imperial Sand Dunes, Glamis, California.

Locals at the inle lake drying the clothes in the sun after dye them with colors.

Taken during the Banpo fountain light show

This little prince is eagerly awaiting the arrival of his Birthday guests. Unbeknownst to him, so is his feline friend.

Egret walking through the swamp on a foggy morning

Fishing down the stream

Gelada Monkey staring into the sunset

Man working on a new building

A perfect landing by a Mute Swan. This image reflects a strong contrast between the calmness induced by the white beauty on the swan against the disturbance caused in the water by its landing. I reduced exposure on the background to reflect the same contrast.

After saving these two hummingbird chicks when they were just a day old when the branch their nest was on broke during a storm (I replaced it and attached it to its original tree), I had the honor of watching them and their mom as the chicks grew to fledglings and then flew away. This picture was a few days before they actually left the nest. The dark stucco of my house provided a perfect backdrop to their activities.

This jumping spider was personable and very easy to photograph as it was willing to sit still, facing me.

This praying mantis looks completely shocked and like it was caught doing something wrong. I had to laugh while taking this shot, as mantis seem to be very expressive sometimes.

Set of American Flamingos at Rio Lagartos Biosphere Reserve in Mexico, march in a synchronized formation whilst trying to find some food

Two girls run up the rounded walls of the Heydar Aliyev Center in the heart of Baku.

Hundreds of sheets of cloth create a rainbow of colours as workers lay them out to dry. A sea of red, orange, pink, purple and yellow can be seen in these aerial shots as the fabric dries in a field. Workers can also be seen in the middle of the palette of colour as they unfold each sheet. Once the cloth dries it is used to create traditional Bangladeshi women's dresses.

The icy breath of the north covered everything around with ice cover. But the Restless Barents Sea does not want to give up.

A Guanaco (Lama guanicoe) surveys its surroundings from a vantage point at sunset, with the imposing Torres del Paine (Chile) in the background. Scouts like this individual keep an eye out for predators.

This was one of the most spine chilling experience that I had in my entire time with wildlife It was a winter noon drive that we got into the woods of central India and soon we reached a particular point in the jungle we got intense langur calls saying the presence of a predator around After thorough checking for the same we found this subadult male tiger staring at us from the beside bushes It was really a spine chilling experience to see directly into a tigers eye at any time

A Crabeater Seal (Lobodon carcinophaga) swimming by an iceberg in Antarctica on a snowy day.

A banded anole from the Amazon rainforest, these lizards live in the trees and rely on their excellent camouflage to stay safe.

This photo shows the beautiful landscape of Capital Reef National Park with its amazing old orchards in foreground. Capital Reef has many old orchards of peaches, apples and apricots. The park lets you eat all you want if you eat it in the orchard.

Depicts a woman standing at the end of a staircase on the edge of a building, while the pipes coming from the structure continue on only to come to an end. The woman posing in the photo stares straight into the lens of the camera to emphasize the dividing nature of the image.

feeding baby 1

Anaconda Glacial Cave in Iceland

When the full moon rises, dark skies shine with bright fire, and the stars go to the dance, as if greeting it. Kazakhstan

Karyukai - the very secretive flower and willow world of the Japanese Geishas. Each Geisha is like a flower, beautiful in her own way, and like a willow tree, gracious, flexible and strong. For many locals, even those living in Kyoto, the closest they have come is perhaps glimpsing a Geisha alighting from taxis and quickly disappearing behind a nameless sliding door. The Geiko Tomitsuyuu enjoying the peace and serenity of the quiet temple room. She thinks of her music and her dance. The scene is like a fairy tale, the Heron Maiden...

Hubbard's Sportive Lemurs are nocturnal. This one curiously peeked out of its hollow tree trunk bedroom when we made a bit of noise. We spotted it from a distance at Zombitse National Park in Madagascar.

The children run to the boat.Because the boat leave to the ways.

This photo was taken from the Tunnel View at Yosemite National Park. The photo is of Bridalveil Fall consumed by smoke due to controlled burning on the Yosemite Valley floor.

In South Asia, chillis are dried on the ground, before they are preserved or made into spices. The process requires workers (usually ladies) to lay out the chillis in the sun, and flip them every now and then to ensure a consistent drying process.

A wrestling contest held on the bank of the Ganges in Kolkata, India

A sled in the Smithsonian collections marks the historic race

History remembers the English queen as a murderous monster, but the real story of Mary I is far more nuanced

Philip Roth's classic novel, newly adapted by HBO, envisions a world in which Charles Lindbergh wins the 1940 presidential election

The hair-care magnate at the center of the new Netflix series 'Self Made' left her imprint on the city where she launched her career

In 1919, a second wave of cases of the previous year's flu lead to the sudden death of the hockey championship

Historian Ellen Carol DuBois chronicles the twists and turns of the 75-year-path to securing the vote for women in her new book

In the hours after disaster struck Anchorage, an unexpected figure named Genie Chance came to the rescue

From virtual museum tours to space exploration, ancient worlds and natural phenomena, this hub has you covered

Smithsonian curator Eleanor Jones Harvey explains why this revolutionary 19th-century thought leader is due for a reconsideration

A museum director looks to the past to explain why 'Aloha' is as necessary as ever

We're highlighting newly released titles may have been lost in the news as the nation endures the coronavirus pandemic

The National Trust for Historic Preservation is looking for 1,000 places tied to women's history, and to share the stories of the figures behind them

While COVID-19 has us homebound, it’s a good time to reflect on the peculiar histories of housewares we take for granted

The second installment in our weekly series spotlights titles that may have been lost in the news amid the COVID-19 pandemic

A new book explores how George Washington shaped the group of advisors as an institution to meet his own needs

Using the lunar module as a lifeboat and employing techniques never before considered, the astronauts' ordeal ended triumphantly

Sketches from the workshop of French engineer Gustave Eiffel suggest a different plan for Lady Liberty’s upraised arm