NYのメトロポリタンミュージアムが超大盤振る舞い 40万点の作品を高精細画像でダウンロード可能に(もちろん非商業利用に限る)

NYのメトロポリタンミュージアム(MET)が5/16付(現地時間)
　非商業利用であれば、40万点の作品を高精細モードでダウンロード可能に
した。なんて太っ腹!
画集を作っている出版社には悪夢だろうけど、作品保護の立場からも、歓迎したい。
一応、アナウンス。

Metropolitan Museum Initiative Provides Free Access to 400,000 Digital Images
New Web Program Allows Free Image Download for Non-Commercial Use
(New York, May 16, 2014)—Thomas P. Campbell, Director and CEO of The Metropolitan Museum of Art, announced today that more than 400,000 high-resolution digital images of public domain works in the Museum’s world-renowned collection may be downloaded directly from the Museum’s website for non-commercial use—including in scholarly publications in any media—without permission from the Museum and without a fee. The number of available images will increase as new digital files are added on a regular basis.

In making the announcement, Mr. Campbell said: “Through this new, open-access policy, we join a growing number of museums that provide free access to images of art in the public domain. I am delighted that digital technology can open the doors to this trove of images from our encyclopedic collection.”
The Metropolitan Museum’s initiative—called Open Access for Scholarly Content (OASC)—provides access to images of art in its collection that the Museum believes to be in the public domain and free of other known restrictions; these images are now available for scholarly use in any media. Works that are covered by the new policy are identified on the Museum’s website (http://www.metmuseum.org/collections) with the acronym OASC. (Certain works are not available through the initiative for one or more of the following reasons: the work is still under copyright, or the copyright status is unclear; privacy or publicity issues; the work is owned by a person or an institution other than the Metropolitan Museum; restrictions by the artist, donor, or lender; or lack of a digital image of suitable quality.)

OASC was developed as a resource for students, educators, researchers, curators, academic publishers, non-commercial documentary filmmakers, and others involved in scholarly or cultural work. Prior to the establishment of OASC, the Metropolitan Museum provided images upon request, for a fee, and authorization was subject to terms and conditions.

Additional information and instructions on OASC can be found on the Museum’s website at http://www.metmuseum.org/research/image-resources/frequently-asked-questions.

というわけで、METに目当ての作品のある方は
　The Collection Online / 394,227 records
へGO!