Art lovers from around the world, rejoice: New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art is flooding the internet with classic works from its collection. Overall, it's releasing 375,000 images of public domain art for viewing on the web and unrestricted use in a partnership with Wikimedia. The new initiative is going full-steam to promote the effort and make sure the world knows how to gain access. Users can browse the museum's collection (or via the Creative Commons search) and download and use images classified as in the public domain for whatever they want: school projects, personal use, even web stories. In a statement, Thomas P. Campbell, director and CEO of the museum, said, "Increasing access to the Museum's collection and scholarship serves the interests and needs of our 21st-century audiences by offering new resources for creativity, knowledge, and ideas. We thank Creative Commons, an international leader in open access and copyright, for being a partner in this effort." The museum is also cranking up partnerships with Creative Commons, Wikimedia, Artstor, Digital Public Library of America (DPLA), Art Resource, and even Pinterest to help publicize the new initiative.
