GETTY MUSEUM FREE ONLINE ACCESS
The museum's 'Open Content Program' which makes 4,600
images, free for use, by anyone whom they inspire!
This excellent, high-quality resource aggregates artworks
held in the Getty's eminent collections on one searchable web-space. Visitors
to the site can select, use, modify and publish images for any purpose they see
fit. The Getty want to know how the images will be used before they are
released to use, share, manipulate or appropriate - no holds barred!
Manuscripts, paintings, photographs and sculptural works in the public domain
are some of the many types of art at the public's disposal.
The Open Content Program is part of the Getty's broader
commitment to share as many of their art resources as they can, digitally. This
includes plans to add further images from the museum's collection over time,
and to add the special collections of the Getty Research Institute to the
online site as the holdings receive copyright-clearance.
For a museum of the Getty's stature, its pledge to open
digital access is representative of the move by galleries and museums to
embrace new technological innovation and digital culture. Judge for yourself
the significance of the resource by browsing its full contents here.
Notable Works and Collections
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Ada Louise Huxtable Archive
Documenting the most important voice in architectural criticism over the last 50 years, this archive contains a rich range of materials that detail Huxtable's powerful influence on the fields of architecture, construction, and city politics. |
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Knoedler Gallery Archive
Illuminating the operations of one of America's oldest and most preeminent galleries, this archive adds key unpublished resources to the Research Institute's collections related to the history of taste, the art market, collecting, and patronage. |
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LA Liber Amicorum
A unique artists' book of works on paper from Los Angeles's leading graffiti and tattoo artists, executed as an artistic response to the Research Institute's collections of calligraphy and writing manuals and other rare books. |
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Man Ray Archives
A collection of datebooks, correspondence, photos, and materials related to the artist Man Ray. |
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Robert Mapplethorpe Archive
This donation by the Robert Mapplethorpe Foundation represents the definitive research collection on the artist, including rare, early works and personal correspondence with friends John McKendry, Patti Smith, and Sam Wagstaff. |
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Philipp Otto Runge's Times of Day
A rare copy of Philipp Otto Runge's first-edition suite of four prints,Times of Day, which stands as a monument of German Romantic art. |
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Ed Ruscha's Streets of Los Angeles Archives
A valuable source of rare archival material by Ed Ruscha, one of the leading postwar art figures, that captures the city's architecture and thoroughfares. |
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Harry Smith Papers
A wide-ranging archive of artwork, film, and ephemera from this influential cult figure of the Beat generation. |
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NEW ONLINE RESOURCES: MOVIE TITLE STILLS COLLECTION
FREE ONLINE ART BOOKS AND CATALOGUES
The financial cost of many high-quality art books and exhibition catalogues can sometimes be off-putting. the growing trend to open access in the academic world is opening up a number of opportunities to view scholarly research and even entire books online! Two of New York's famous institutions: The Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum are sharing their resources with the arts world.
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The Metropolitan Museum launched MetPublications last year, a project which aims to offer digital access to almost all books and journals published by the Metropolitan since 1870. The collection is sprouting up with an impressive 700 free art books and catalogues available to the art community at the last count! There's a broad international perspective with just about every area of the visual and decorative arts covered. The period from 1964 to the present day profiles highly although watch out for some of the in-print titles which may only be previewed with a link to purchase the book. Thankfully, the contents of all other titles can be read online or downloaded as PDF files which still manages to cover a broad spectrum of the arts.
The Guggenheim Museum has made 99 art catalogues available for free, offering visual introductions to the exhibitions of many significant artists. To search, select a text from the collection and click the "Read Catalogue Online" button which will allow you to begin reading the catalogue in a pop-up browser.