More museums join the free image revolution
November 5 2017
Picture: Mauritshuis
Exciting news that the Barnes Foundation in Philadelphia and the Mauritshuis in The Hague have made images of out of copyright artworks in their collection free to reproduce. The images are downloadable online in high resolution formats, and you can use them in any way you like. Brilliant. AHN applauds both institutions.
You can read more about the Mauritshuis' decision here on Europeana. And an article on Medium by Shelley Bernstein of The Barnes' reasoning makes an unarguable case in favour of more museums following their lead:
Providing open access to collection objects is a vital step in moving the institution forward in our digital world [...]
[...] it was critical that we promote downloads and sharing whenever possible — the result will mean that many more people can use these images — wherever they please — and that opens the institution up for even greater awareness which will help promote greater access, especially with the new audiences we are now seeking to develop.
