I think there is no easy answer. It would be best to contact the exact office or institution which commissioned them and ask for a letter clarifying the copyright status.
It is possible that the government purchased both the copyright and the physical object, but also possible that the government merely purchased the physical object.
Fredrik Josefsson wrote:
This issue has been discussed for a while now. First on English Wikipedia, now on Commons.
The discussion on Commons can be found at: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Template:Deletion_requests#Official_painti...
A lengthy debate on English Wikipedia is at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Possibly_unfree_images/US_government_...
The debate in short: The paintings are not Work of the United States Government, they were made by artists on commission. Can they be used as public domain?
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