English: Photograph taken circa February 1987, possibly earlier (but not later).

English: *Original source: Physical copies of the photograph were distributed in the late 1980s by the Kronos Quartet, its management, and its record label. Scans of original copies can be seen at Historic, marked with various dates based on when they were received by a media outlet: 1987-02-04, 1988-01-15, 1988-03, and one unstamped/undated. Another scan can be seen at PicClick in an archive of an eBay listing; unlike the others, this copy carries the logo of their label, Elektra/Nonesuch, and although the photo itself is unstamped/undated it is accompanied by tickets to a Kronos concert on January 28, 1988.

• Instant source: This is a retouched image created by the uploader based on two of the scans linked above, all of which were watermarked by the scanners before being listed for sale.

English: Photograph by Michele Clement. Distributed by the quartet, its management, and Elektra/Nonesuch.

English: No permission is required for the following reasons:

1. The photograph was published/distributed in the United States without a valid copyright notice prior to March 1, 1989, and it was not subsequently registered with the US Copyright Office. Scans of the front and back of the five copies linked above show that none of were printed with a valid copyright notice. There was no registration of the work within five years of its earliest-known publication in 1987; see the searchable Copyright Catalog (1978–present). As such, the opportunity for copyright protection on the photo was forfeited and it entered the public domain.
2. The source images linked above are mechanical scans of the underlying public domain work. These scans are faithful reproductions of the photograph that do not meet the threshold of originality necessary to assert a copyright interest.
3. The image is a retouch combining aspects from multiple scans to recreate the underlying image as faithfully as possible. It is not expected that any independent copyright interest would arise in the retouch itself as a derivative work, as it is only an attempt to accurately reproduce an underlying public domain work. However, to the extent that it may be considered a derivative work in certain jurisdictions, the creator/uploader hereby releases it into the public domain and/or "grants anyone the right to use this work for any purpose, without any conditions, unless such conditions are required by law" (see second license template below).