Rauschenberg Foundation Eases Copyright Restrictions on Art; New York Times, 2/26/16

Randy Kennedy, New York Times; Rauschenberg Foundation Eases Copyright Restrictions on Art:

"Images are vital in art scholarship and publishing, he added, and when they are not available, scholarship can be weakened or delayed or not pursued at all. The effects can filter down even to college art classes, where images necessary for teaching are sometimes too costly or complicated to obtain.

Whether other prominent foundations will follow the Rauschenberg’s lead remains to be seen. “In principle, I’m really for what” Ms. MacLear “is doing,” said Jack Flam, president and chief executive of the Dedalus Foundation, which represents the work of Robert Motherwell and has been active recently in public discussions about copyright issues. But Mr. Flam, an art historian, added that the current system still had a valuable role to play both in ensuring that the best images are used and in helping foundations and estates keep track of how those images are used. “It’s not a money issue; it’s a quality issue,” he said."