The National Library of Spain (BNE) has digitised and made available to users, through BNE Digital, the platform for accessing its digital heritage, more than 600 works by 154 Spanish authors who passed away in 1945, whose creations entered the public domain in 2026. These works can be freely consulted and downloaded through this link.
The complete list of authors in the catalogue of the National Library of Spain whose works entered the public domain in 2026 is available on this page of the BNE website. It includes Spanish authors who passed away in 1945 whose works are part of the BNE’s collection. After 80 years since their death, these works can now be published, reproduced or disseminated publicly.
The list includes 154 names, among whom are scientists, doctors, painters, musicians, teachers, novelists, actresses, dancers, historians, editors, journalists and poets.
We have identified authors born in Argentina, Cuba, England and France, although the vast majority are Spanish, with representation from each of the Autonomous Communities. By place of birth, we have 10 from Andalusia, 14 from Aragon, 11 from Asturias, 5 from the Balearic Islands, 2 from the Canary Islands, 1 from Cantabria, 11 from Castile and León, 6 from Castile-La Mancha, 24 from Catalonia, 16 from the Community of Madrid, 13 from the Valencian Community, 2 from Extremadura, 9 from Galicia, 1 from La Rioja, 3 from Navarre, 6 from the Basque Country and 3 from Murcia.
The BNE conducts a study of these authors in order to provide as much information as possible about them, which is displayed in various formats to facilitate their use and reuse.
This information is also collected in a map to visualize in a simplified way the geographical distribution of their origins, identifying by author’s name, by province or by main occupation. It can be consulted here.
Additionally, ten profiles of authors who passed away in 1945 have been added to the Autores en la BNE portal (Authors in the BNE).
Among the notable authors whose works are now free of copyright are:
José Gutiérrez Solana (Madrid, 1886). Expressionist painter, engraver and writer. His pictorial and literary work, with a strong social message, reflects a harsh view of reality. The list includes 8 digitised works, , among which are Madrid, escenas y costumbres, Madrid callejero and La España negra.
Ignacio Zuloaga (Eibar, 1870), painter of the Generation of ’98. One of the most prominent figures in late 19th and early 20th century painting. Among his digitised works are portraits of Azorín and Gregorio Marañón.
María de la Concepción Alfaya López (Madrid, 1886), writer, teacher, historian, ethnographer and politician. She was a leader of the Republican Left in Segovia. With two works: Noticias para la Historia económica y social de España. Teorías económico-sociales (1800 a 1820) y Noticias sobre algunas transformaciones sociales de la post-guerra en Bélgica. Asistencia y Beneficiencia.
Telésforo de Aranzadi (Bergara, Guipúzcoa, 1860), scientist, doctor of Pharmacy and Natural Sciences, professor of Mineralogy and Zoology. There are 19 digitised works, including El pueblo euskalduna. Estudio de Antropología, (The Basque People: An Anthropological Study), his doctoral thesis in Natural Sciences, work that earned the prize from the Anthropological Society of Paris (1891).
Odón de Buen (Zaragoza, 1863), oceanographer, botanist. Specialist in marine biology, director of the General Institute of Oceanography, he has 18 works to his name, including his Diccionario de historia natural (Dictionary of Natural History).
Antonio Graíño (Santiago de Villapedre, Asturias, 1870). Bibliophile, bibliographer and bookseller. He assembled an important collection of works related to the Spanish colonisation of America and the Philippines. The books on America were acquired by the Institute of Hispanic Culture. Those relating to the Philippines were incorporated into the collection of the National Library of Spain. He has two works, one of which is Tres joyas de la bibliografía lingüística filipina (Three Jewels of Philippine Linguistic Bibliography).
Antonio de Zayas (Madrid, 1871). Writer, historian and diplomat. Leading representative of Parnassianism in Spain. Zayas was actively involved in magazines (Revista Ibérica, Helios, Renacimiento, and others), social gatherings and cultural initiatives linked to the nascent modernism and new fin-de-siècle literature. He wrote 11 works, including one of his most accomplished titles: Retratos antiguos.