Getty Releases Second Batch of Open Content Images

The Getty released 5,400 high-resolution images from the Getty Research Institute (GRI) through its Open Content Program, more than doubling the number available to the public for use without fees or restriction, bringing the total of available images to roughly 10,000.

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 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.

For more information on the Getty’s Open Content Program, visit:

5,400 Images from the Getty Research Institute’s Special Collections Now Available as Open Content