“We are delighted to include these images from the Getty Research Institute in our Open Content Program, which makes these images available without charge to be used for any purpose,” said Getty President and CEO Jim Cuno. “We saw a phenomenal outpouring of creativity and enthusiasm from the public in response to our initial release of J. Paul Getty Museum images; we can’t wait to see what kind of scholarship will spring from this release of Getty Research Institute images.”
The Getty Research Institute images join approximately 4,600 images from the J. Paul Getty Museum that were released in August through the first phase of the Open Content Program. Immediately after the initial release, traffic to the Getty Search Gateway, the tool that enables access to Open Content images, skyrocketed from an average of 200 visits per day to a peak of 22,000. Within the first two months, there were more than 100,000 downloads of Open Content images, compared to an average of 121 image requests a month prior to Open Content.
“The Getty Research Institute’s vaults hold rare books, prints, photographs, manuscripts and sketchbooks that provide perspectives on artistic production, intellectual exchange, and creative collaboration,” said Thomas W. Gaehtgens, director of the GRI. “We hope that by making these images available without restrictions, we will be stimulating a similar kind of intellectual exchange, initiating scholarship and discussion and increasing awareness of the GRI’s rare and unique collections in art history and visual culture.”
The 5,400 newly available images from the Research Institute include drawings and watercolors, artists’ sketchbooks, rare prints from the 16th through the 18th century, 19th-century architectural drawings of cultural landmarks and 19th-century photographs of the Middle East and Asia.
The Getty plans to continue to add images, until eventually all applicable Getty-owned or public domain images are available, without restrictions, online. The Museum and the GRI are continuing to identify applicable images, and the Getty Conservation Institute is also working to make available images from its projects worldwide.
Prior to the Open Content Program, the Getty Research Institute made high-resolution images available upon request and granted specific use permissions with terms and conditions. Now, while the Getty requests information about the intended use, it will not restrict use of available images, and no fees apply for any use of images made available for direct download on the website.
“This project goes to the heart of the Getty’s mission to share its collections and research as widely as possible,” said Cuno. “We look forward to seeing the ingenious, creative and thoughtful ways these images are being used.”