Smithsonian Open Access. Millions of open access works of art

"Dissemination of knowledge" is the mission of the Smithsonian Institution, the largest complex of museums and research centres in the world. Founded in 1846, the Smithsonian brings together no less than 19 museums and 9 research centers in Washington.

Good news, the venerable institution has just put online and in the public domain more than 2.8 million high-resolution images from its extensive collections. Everyone can use and download them for free. Don’t miss it, this cave of Ali Baba is home to many treasures.

A great collection of royalty-free high-definition images

The Smithsonian Open Access collection is listed under a Creative Commons Zero license, making it free from any republication restrictions. You can use the images as they are but also integrate them into other projects.

Like others collections made available by many major museums, it provides a great documentary background for classroom work.

Multiple entries to make your search easier

The site offers several possible entrances to the curious, students or educators. First of all, you have a search engine that will scan the entire mage database. This is not the most successful thing on the platform. The Smithsonian Open Access would benefit from offering a system of headings and keywords to prevent the visitor from getting lost amidst the thousands of wonders that its shelving houses.

The institution offers teachers direct access to a learning lab that is more interesting from this point of view. Here you will find ideas for courses and sequences as well as series of images and videos to illustrate them.Everything is in English but the content is good.

Another particularly interesting entry is the gallery dedicated to images made and searchable in 3D.

Hundreds of images of all kinds to explore from all angles in three dimensions.

An excellent resource to put aside for iconography needs or for your simple pleasure.

The Smithsonian Open Access collection is free of charge and without any advertising.

Link: Visit the Simthsonian Open Access image bank