New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art did something amazing on may 16 — they put hundreds of thousands of digital images of public domain works up on their website for people to download. Above you'll find Edouard Manet's painting "Boating."
And here's a little Picasso:
This is fantastic. But it's noteworthy in part because it's sadly rare. Museums whose entire reason for being is to display cultural artifacts for the public have often been hesitant to embrace the power of the digital public domain. But one of the best things a non-profit cultural institution of any kind can do is set works free in this way.
Many more images here. Via Kottke.
Will you support Vox’s explanatory journalism?
Most news outlets make their money through advertising or subscriptions. But when it comes to what we’re trying to do at Vox, there are a couple reasons that we can't rely only on ads and subscriptions to keep the lights on.
First, advertising dollars go up and down with the economy. We often only know a few months out what our advertising revenue will be, which makes it hard to plan ahead.
Second, we’re not in the subscriptions business. Vox is here to help everyone understand the complex issues shaping the world — not just the people who can afford to pay for a subscription. We believe that’s an important part of building a more equal society. We can’t do that if we have a paywall.
That’s why we also turn to you, our readers, to help us keep Vox free. If you also believe that everyone deserves access to trusted high-quality information, will you make a gift to Vox today?
Yes, I'll give $5/month
Yes, I'll give $5/month
We accept credit card, Apple Pay, and
Google Pay. You can also contribute via