Rights and Reproductions

Personal, Educational, and Non-Commercial Use

Personal, educational and non-commercial use of digital images from our website is permitted, with attribution to the Smithsonian American Art Museum, for all images unless otherwise noted.

Guidelines and Fee Schedule for Other Types of Use

Submit in writing all requests for photographic material and/or permission to reproduce images of works from the collection of the Smithsonian American Art Museum to the Office of Rights and Reproductions (see contact information below). Include all of the following information:

  1. Artist, title, and accession number (if known) of work

  2. Photographic material needed (see below)

  3. Intended use (study/scholarly, lecture, or publication) 

    Study or scholarly use consists of using the image for viewing, displaying, or storing in an album or other storage system for later viewing, and does not include multiple reproduction publication in any format, commercial exploitation, or inclusion of the image on a personal website.

  4. Information about the publication including medium, title, author, publisher, print run, retail price, etc.

Photographic Materials Fees

4 x 5 inch color transparency 6 month rental for $60(for publication.)

8 x 10 inch black-and-white photograph for $10.

35-mm color slide for $5.

New photography (if necessary) 2-D object for $75 and 3-D Object for $100.

Reproduction Fees

Print publication

Inside image $50 for color and $25 for B/W.

Cover Image $200 for color and $100 for B/W.

DVD/CD-ROM color for $100 and $50 for B/W.

Web site color for $100 and $50 for B/W.

Exhibition panel color for $50 and $25 for B/W.

*Color reproductions must be made from color transparencies.

In addition, please note the following:

  • All publication fees are for print runs under 3,000; all DVD/CD-ROM fees are for print runs under 1,000. Web site permissions are for one year. For larger print runs, please contact the museum's commercial representative, Art Resource, directly at (212) 505-8700 or requests@artres.com.
  • All requests for future editions or renewals must be submitted in writing as a separate request.
  • You will receive a permission contract/invoice for each approved request. After the museum receives a signed contract and payment, you will receive the requested material and a countersigned copy of the contract. Please allow three to four weeks from receipt of request for delivery. Payment received with the initial request will only be accepted for slide orders.
  • The museum reserves the right to deny permission to any request.

Send requests and other inquiries to:

Office of Rights and Reproductions
Smithsonian American Art Museum 
MRC 970, PO Box 37012
Washington DC 20013-7012

Fax: (202) 633-8493
Email: sorensenr[at]si.edu

Please include your email address on all correspondence.