Wow….this led to a spirited interaction! I suppose that there really is no definitive answer unless one consults with a copyright attorney…and/or finds out of the estate of the artist has bequeathed copyrights to all his/her works to someone. I would definitely consult someone professional first.
I also wonder (like @blueiiznh ) if it is possible to copy a work for non-commercial purposes…not for sale. For example, if someone uses “Monet’s Waterlilies” as a poster background to advertise a garden show, would the organization be liable? If the poster was not sold, simply distributed as advertising? Seriously, is Monet’s great-great-grandchild who is now 80 coming after a group of little old zinnia-planting ladies in Ottumwa, Iowa? Probably not.
I think that this is a very complex subject…...but I enjoyed reading all the contributions…thank you everyone…for your thoughts/ideas/knowledge.
Lurve coming to all. Thank you again!
(PS @blueiiznh…I had problems opening the PDF…so I will have to refer to it later. Thanks for that, though.)