How To Obtain Gratuitous Images From The National Portrait Gallery

Thomas Girtin by John Opie
petroleum on canvas, circa 1800 (NPG 882)
© National Portrait Gallery, London
Creative Commons License

Today the National Portrait Gallery in London has announced a alter inwards its licensing arrangements for images needed for academic or non-commercial purposes.  In hereafter it volition hold upward possible to download images, which are out of copyright, for free.

I've been campaigning behind the scenes for years to larn the major museums to brand their collections to a greater extent than accessible to those who desire to written report images in addition to break them for non-commercial purposes.  I've written to a greater extent than than a few emails inwards my fourth dimension to explicate why stated licensing arrangements were a nonsense - especially inwards honour of publicly funded fine art galleries in addition to museums which receive got educational objectives!  I've explained at length why the processes required for the commercial impress exploitation of high resolution images are neither relevant nor appropriate for depression resolution images needed for academic written report or personal use.  It has felt rather similar hitting one's caput against a brick wall at times!

One of the institutions which has been opened upward to the notion that the approach to licensing needed to alter is the National Portrait Gallery inwards London.

There has been motility over fourth dimension - in addition to I'm delighted to denote a major alter which volition hopefully prompt other major collections in the UK (and elsewhere) to exercise something similar.

Today, the National Portrait Gallery announced that it similar a shot enables those who involve images for academic or non-commercial purposes to download a broad hit of images for free.

Over 53,000 low-resolution images volition similar a shot hold upward available gratis of accuse to non-commercial users through a criterion ‘Creative Commons’ licence in addition to over 87,000 high-resolution images volition also hold upward available gratis of accuse for academic exercise through the Gallery’s ain licences.

This novel provision alone applies to those images which are out of copyright.  Those which are withal bailiwick to copyright withal require permission to hold upward sought from the creative somebody or the artist's estate.

Below I explicate how to access in addition to download images using the novel automated licensing process


The NPG's Digital Portrait Collection

The Gallery’s mission is summarised as

‘to promote through the medium of portraits the appreciation in addition to understanding of the men in addition to women who receive got made in addition to are making British history in addition to culture, in addition to ... to promote the appreciation in addition to understanding of portraiture inwards all media’

This major alter inwards licensing damage has occurred partly because of the piece of job undertaken past times the Gallery to digitise to a greater extent than than 100,000 portraits - paintings, photographs, drawings, prints in addition to sculptures  - inwards the  Gallery’s Collection.

The NPG has been working on this projection since 1997!  The Gallery was amid the get-go United Kingdom of Great Britain in addition to Northern Ireland institutions to brand images from their collection available every bit a digital ikon inside a searchable database.  This inwards plough enabled the Gallery to license its enormous asset base of operations which inwards plough enables it to generate some £5.5 1 G 1000 which was reinvested inwards the Gallery's work.

Not all of the portraits inwards the Collections receive got yet been scanned, in addition to or thence are bailiwick to copyright restrictions.  Charges in addition to restrictions volition withal apply to accessing or thence images, every bit good every bit to the commercial exercise of ALL images. Funds raised past times ikon licensing activity contribute towards farther digitisation.

A novel licensing process 

The major stumbling blocks associated amongst the existing licensing processes used past times many major fine art galleries in addition to museums are:

1. they are far also slow
2. they neglect to recognise the diverse media similar a shot used to portion images in addition to educate online

What the NPG has done is to exercise a new automated licensing process which greatly speeds upward the procedure for all those amongst an academic and/or non-commercial exercise inwards mind.  The Gallery volition monitor the exercise of each transaction to foreclose potential abuse of the scheme in addition to save the of import revenue achieved from commercial ikon licensing.

How to access the download in addition to license an ikon for FREE

In social club to access an ikon in addition to and then license in addition to download it, this is what you lot involve to do

• Search the collection for the ikon you lot want
• Click the link which says "Use this image"
• Note carefully whether or non it is out of copyright.  If it is out of copyright in addition to then the page wil await similar the 1 exhibit below.  Note that iii licenses are offered every bit options:
• Professional licence
• Academic licence
• Creative Commons
• Read almost what is on offer:  The Creative Commons Licence offers the next benefits in addition to restrictions

What is this?
Image licence in addition to download forlimited non-commercial use. Image sizes are 800 pixels on the longest dimension at 72 dpi.
What tin flaming I exercise the ikon for?
Use inwards non-commercial, amateur projects (e.g. blogs, local societies in addition to household unit of measurement history).

• Make a donation if you lot recall this appropriate.  Bear inwards heed that digitisation is non inexpensive in addition to the facility exists because of the funds generated past times the project
• Agree to the conditions: Tick to yell for that you lot receive got read in addition to handle to the full understanding damage in addition to conditions which is a creative common licence which requires you lot to:
• attribute the piece of job inwards the mode specified past times the writer or licensor 
• not exercise this piece of job for commercial purposes
• not alter, transform, or prepare upon this work
• provide a link to the spider web page which cites the creative common licence
• Provide your electronic mail address - below is the explanation of why they involve this

We brand images available for non-commercial exercise in addition to involve to monitor this service, to come across how good it is appreciated, to brand certain it is non abused, to come across which images are of involvement to users in addition to to empathize how nosotros tin flaming prepare the service further.

Image non covered past times copyright in addition to available for download
Screenshot of the webpage relating to the portrait inwards oils of Tom Girtin past times John Opie
Note the iii dissimilar licenses - Professional (commercial), Academic in addition to Creative Commons

"Here's 1 I prepared earlier"

Being real Blue Peterish almost this I had a larn (to position the procedure outlined above!).  Below you lot tin flaming come across the result.  My choice was determined past times the fact I'm rather partial to paintings of artists past times other artists - summation I'd never seen a portrait of Tom Girtin (18 Feb 1775 – nine Nov 1802) the famous English linguistic communication watercolour painter of the nineteenth century of whom Turner said on hearing of Girtin's early on conk at the historic catamenia of 27.

“Poor Tom……..If Tom Girtin had lived, I should receive got starved.”

So I searched the collection for Thomas Girtin in addition to constitute this page.  I in addition to then downloaded the ikon using the Creative Commons facility.  I got an ikon which is 668 x 800 pixels in addition to 82kb which I recall agency it's in all probability almost lx dpi.

The ikon is genuinely larger than I involve for this weblog thence I've resized it on Blogger using the ikon functionality to "Extra Large" which every bit it happens is smaller than the "Original Size".  If you lot correct click the ikon in addition to opened upward it inwards a split tab you'll come across the size of the ikon which has been made available using the Creative Commons process.

Note how I receive got in addition to then attributed it using a Blogger caption for the ikon

• I've linked to the page where I licensed it inwards the title; 
• copied the official championship in addition to details from the collection caption in addition to then 
• included a link to the Creative Commons licence below this.

One to a greater extent than thing to address

Rights in addition to images is the spider web page which explains the National Portrait Gallery's approach on intellectual property, copyright in addition to licensing every bit this relates to commercial usage.

It appears that the website has non yet caught upward amongst a similar summary page relating to the academic in addition to creative common licences it is similar a shot granting - in addition to I'll hold upward pleased to highlight this page every bit in addition to when it's created!

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