: Re: Can I use an old painting of Lilith as my book cover? I'm working on a book of poetry, and I want to use John Collier's (1892) painting of Lilith as the cover. I won't be selling the book

@Kaufman555

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Yes, you can
And it doesn't matter if you plan to sell the book or give it away.
That painting is in the public domain in the US, because it was published well before 1923. It is in the public domain in the UK and most of the EU because the author died well over 70 years ago. In fact, I don't know of any country in which the painting is still under copyright.
Now as to the photograph or scanned image. If such an image exists, and you can access it, under Bridgeman Art Library v. Corel Corp., 36 F. Supp. 2d 191 (S.D.N.Y. 1999) a "slavish" reproduction of a 2-d (flat) work of art does not have the originality to be granted a copyright, and is unprotected.
The Wikipedia article says:

Bridgeman is not binding precedent on other federal or state courts, but it has nevertheless been highly influential as persuasive authority, and is widely followed by other federal courts.
Several federal courts have followed the ruling in Bridgeman. In Meshwerks v. Toyota, 528 F.3d 1258 (10th Cir. 2008),[5] the Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit favorably cited Bridgeman v. Corel, extending the reasoning in Bridgeman to cover 3D wireframe meshes of existing 3D objects. The appeals court wrote "[T]he law is becoming increasingly clear: one possesses no copyright interest in reproductions ... when these reproductions do nothing more than accurately convey the underlying image".

The decisions tht follow Bridgeman also comply with Feist Publications v. Rural Telephone Service (1991) in specifically rejecting difficulty of labor or expense as a consideration in copyrightability. (This used to be called the "sweat of the brow" theory of copyright.)
The Wikipedia article goes on to say that:

As a US court case, Bridgeman Art Library v. Corel Corp. is not binding upon UK courts. However, because it follows dicta in Interlego, and cites Justice Laddie, it serves to raise doubt in UK law as to the originality of photographs that exactly replicate other works of art.

...

In November 2015, the Intellectual Property Office of the United Kingdom issued an official guide for individuals and businesses titled "Copyright Notice: digital images, photographs and the internet" that offers a judgment similar to that of Bridgeman v. Corel ...

The owners of such out-of-copyright often prevent, or try to prevent, photos being taken, and will provide access to images only for a fee. But if a person can once gain access to such an image, copyright law cannot be used to restrict its use.

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