public domain question

I am at my wit's end here. I can't seem to find a straight answer to this question:
Are ALL works created before 1923 (that is, 1922 or before) automatically in the public domain, whether or not their creators were US artists/writers?

That is, can the works of foreign artists that were created in 1922 or before have had their copyright in the US restored, so that someone could still hold valid US copyrights in them?

The reason I'm asking is that a London publishing firm claims to hold US

copyrights to the works of a (non-US, Dutch, actually) artist whose works were all done before 1923 (actually before 1900), and wants a fee to reproduce them.

Can you clarify this, or point me to a resource that might? Thanks!!

Purrrrs...
Wendy Christensen Received on Mon May 13 2002 - 20:02:13 GMT