National Gallery of Art | Open Access

"With the launch of NGA Images, the National Gallery of Art implements an open access policy for digital images of works of art that the Gallery believes to be in the public domain. Images of these works are now available free of charge for any use, commercial or non-commercial. Users do not need to contact the Gallery for authorization to use these images. They are available for download at the NGA Images website (images.nga.gov). See Policy Details below for specific instructions and notes for users. BACKGROUND The mission of the National Gallery of Art is to serve the United States of America in a national role by preserving, collecting, exhibiting, and fostering the understanding of works of art at the highest possible museum and scholarly standards. In pursuing this mission, the Gallery makes its collection images and information available to scholars, educators, and the general public to support research, teaching, and personal enrichment; to promote interdisciplinary research; and to nurture an appreciation of all that inspires great works of art. The Gallery’s open access policy is a natural extension of this mission, and in applying the policy in a global digital environment, the Gallery also expands and enhances its educational and scholarly outreach. The Gallery believes that increased access to high quality images of its works of art fuels knowledge, scholarship, and innovation, inspiring uses that continually transform the way we see and understand the world of art. Works in the public domain are those not subject to copyright protection. The Gallery has launched this open access policy with works it believes to be in the public domain, but is hoping gradually to include additional works whose public domain status is currently uncertain...  Users may download— free of charge and without seeking authorization from the Gallery— any image of a work in the Gallery’s collection that the Gallery believes is in the public domain and is free of other known restrictions.  If an image of a work is not currently available under open access, it is for one or more of the following reasons: [1] the work is still under copyright, or the copyright status is unclear [2] privacy or publicity issues exist [3] the work is not fully owned by the Gallery [4] contractual restrictions specified by the artist or donor preclude open access [5] the work has not yet been photographed or the image quality standards of the existing photographs do not conform to Gallery criteria ..."