No photography of any kind (still camera, video recorder, motion picture camera) is allowed in the museum, except as detailed below.  The Lowe Art Museum’s policy on photography and filming in its galleries exists to ensure that works of art are not subjected to the adverse effects of accumulated light damage; to protect copyright, whether owned by the Lowe Art Museum or by another entity; to remain compliant with the terms of traveling exhibition contracts that prohibit photography; and to provide quality control for images reproduced from the Lowe’s collections.

Special Events and Educational Programming: Professional photography for the purpose of documenting a special event held at the Lowe is permitted provided it is the event – and not an individual work of art – that is the subject of the photography.  The Special Events Coordinator must approve all such requests.  Requests for photography during education programs must be arranged through the Curator of Education.

News Media Requests and Exhibition Publicity: Requests by the news media to photograph or film in the galleries for the purpose of publicizing an exhibition will be approved on a case-by-case basis and must take place during business hours when professional staff is on-site to supervise.  All such requests must be coordinated through the University of Miami’s Office of Media Relations.  Requests by the news media to reproduce works from the collection for purposes other than news reporting or criticism should be referred to the Assistant Director for Collections and Exhibition Services and are subject to the Lowe’s standard rights and reproduction policies. 

Rights & Reproductions: For all other uses, whether for commercial purposes (i.e., publication in a book or other product) or non-commercial (e.g., slides for a lecture), reproductions must be purchased in accordance with the Lowe’s published Rights & Reproduction Policies.  In addition, a Rights & Reproduction Agreement must be signed and applicable fees paid.  All such requests should be referred to the Assistant Director for Collections and Exhibition Services.

Student Photography Request Forms: Students may request images of works on display for use in a paper or class assignment by completing a Student Photography Request Form.  Images of loaned works, including temporary exhibitions on display in the Green Gallery and Friends of Art Gallery, are not available.

Requests to Film or Photograph in the Galleries: All non-media related requests to film in the galleries should be referred to the Assistant Director for Collections and Exhibition Services.  Completion of an Application for Permission to Film in the Galleries is required for all non-media shoots, including student projects.

All approved photographers, excluding media and special events, must sign the Lowe’s Rights & Reproduction Agreement prior to photography or filming, and may be required to sign additional contracts issued by the University of Miami. 

Requests by photographers to use lighting must be cleared through the collections department and will be determined based on the amount of lighting to be used and the condition of the object being photographed.  If approved, lights must be placed a minimum of four feet away in all directions from artwork  Under no circumstances will artwork be relocated or removed to accommodate a shoot.  Equipment such as camera tripods must be set up a minimum of four feet away in all directions from the artwork so as not to pose a risk should it be jostled or fall over.

Photography shoots must be scheduled so as not to interfere with the ability of visitors to view artwork.  Filming cannot take place on Mondays, when the museum is closed to the public, or on weekends, when curatorial staff is not available to supervise.  Requests for shoots during a scheduled tour or program must be cleared with the Curator of Education if the shoot might in any way interrupt the program.  In general, approved shoots must take place Tuesdays-Fridays from 10am-3:30pm, unless special arrangements are made or when alternative days and times are required by museum staff.

For film shoots, the script must be approved in advance by the Assistant Director for Collections and Exhibition Services.  Scenes filmed inside the museum may not include food or beverages, dancing, handling of artwork, or any other actions that have the potential to damage artwork.  All talent, crew, props, and equipment requirements, including requests for the use of lights, must be cleared in advance.  Additional contractual permission and filming fees may be required by the University of Miami.

A qualified Lowe staff member or museum security guard will be stationed in the gallery at all times during the shoot.  In the event that the Lowe does not have a staff member or routine guard available at that time, a special guard will be hired by the museum at the expense of the photographer.  The Lowe further reserves the right to require additional guards at the photographer’s expense in the event that it determines such a requirement due to the extent of the shoot.  Security guards shall be billed at a cost of $25/hour with a four hour minimum.  Use fees are generally waived for UM student projects but security fees for non-standard hours may apply.

Rights and Reproductions

Reproduction rights in any medium must be obtained in writing from the Lowe Art Museum prior to reproduction.  All reproductions of objects from the Museum’s collection are made subject to the following conditions:

Fees

Fees are per image per use and do not include the cost of new photography or duplication services if required.  High resolution images, transparencies, and negatives are provided for reproduction/publication purposes only.  Low resolution images may be purchased for study/research purposes.

Please contact the Assistant Director for Collections and Exhibition Services for current fees.

Prepayment of fees is required for all orders, which are final and may not be returned for credit or otherwise refunded.  Purchasing reproductions for study/research purposes does not imply the right to publish or otherwise reproduce the materials commercially or in any other manner not authorized by the Museum.  Failure to pay the required fees for reproduction means that permission has not been granted.  Checks or money orders, made payable to the Lowe Art Museum, must be in $US and payable within the Federal Reserve Bank System. 

Permission is granted for a one-time, nonexclusive, nontransferable use in a single edition and format of the publication or product named overleaf.  Single use is defined as a publication or product having a single physical format, a single date of publication, and a single market.  Any change in content constitutes a separate edition.  Any subsequent or different use, including subsequent editions, editions in a different physical format, or editions in a different language constitutes a reuse and requires further permission and additional fees, which are the same as above.  For film/video use, additional physical formats include broadcast, cable, satellite, or home video use, in addition to the originally specified use.  Images may be used for publicity purposes for the promotion of the edition named on the front of this agreement.

All digital images, negatives, and transparencies remain the property of the Museum, and must be returned immediately upon completion of the use.  The requestor must bear all expenses involved in converting the material into the format required for the publication or product.  Failure to return a rental image by the due date will result in an additional monthly charge as specified above until the image is returned.  Monthly overdue charges will not be pro-rated. 

The Lowe does not provide publishable-quality, high resolution images for study purposes.

Reproduction Policies

Permission is valid only for the individual, company, or institution to which it is specifically issued, and may not be transferred, assigned, sold, or otherwise disposed of without written permission from the Museum. 

Each object must be reproduced unaltered and in its entirety.  No cropping, bleeding off the page, overprinting, printing on color stock, digital modification, or any other alteration is permitted without the prior written consent of the Lowe Art Museum. 

The required caption and credit line must accompany the reproduction, either simultaneously with the image or in the section of the work devoted to photographic credits.  When a detail is used, the word “detail” must appear in the caption with the complete credit line.  Abbreviations are not permitted.

The Lowe Art Museum reserves the right to refuse reproduction if in the best interest of the Museum, or to limit the number of photographic copies, restrict the use or reproduction of rare, fragile, or valuable objects, make special quotations for objects that are unusually difficult to copy, and/or charge a higher copying fee than specified.

The publisher must provide the Museum with one complete, gratis copy of the publication and notify the Museum of any public screening, initial broadcast, or publication dates.

Electronic Distribution of Images

Reproductions distributed electronically must contain the credit line specified by the Museum as part of the image.  When permission is granted to disseminate reproductions electronically, the Museum reserves the right to require an electronic watermark or other identifying code within the scanned file identifying the Lowe Art Museum as owner of the image.  Distributed copies of electronic images may not exceed a resolution of 72 dpi.  If permission is granted to publish a digitized image on a web site, a link must be provided to the Lowe Art Museum’s web site (www.lowemuseum.org). 

Copyright and Title

The Lowe Art Museum, University of Miami, may not be the owner of all rights necessary to publish the reproduction, including copyright and/or rights of privacy or publicity.  It is, therefore, the requestor’s responsibility to obtain any necessary permission to publish the reproduction from parties other than the Lowe Art Museum and to pay any associated fees.  The requestor must provide the Lowe Art Museum with written proof of such permission prior to publication.  The Lowe Art Museum assumes no responsibility for infringements of copyright (Title 17, United States Code), violations of privacy or publicity rights (Title 45 CFR Section 46, Protection of Human Subjects), or other claims by other parties resulting from the requestor’s use of the reproduction, and the requestor agrees to indemnify and hold the Lowe Art Museum, University of Miami harmless from any such claims.  In authorizing the publication, the Lowe Art Museum retains all rights it may own, and does not surrender its right to publish the image or to grant permission to others to do so.

Notice: Warning Concerning Copyright Restrictions

The copyright law of the United States (Title 17, United States Code) governs the making of photocopies and other reproductions of copyrighted materials.  Under certain conditions specified by law, libraries and archives are authorized to furnish a photocopy or other reproduction.  One of these specified conditions is that the photocopy or reproduction is not to be “used for any purposes other than private study, scholarship or research.”  If a user makes a request for, or later uses a photocopy or reproduction for purposes in excess of “fair use,” that user may be liable for copyright infringement.  The Lowe Art Museum reserves the right to refuse to accept a reproduction order if, in its judgment, fulfillment of the order may involve violation of copyright law.

Copying Works of Art on Display

The museum allows visitors to sketch in the galleries using pencil only.  Inks, paints, water, and other media are prohibited.  Copyists must vary in size from the Lowe’s original in both dimensions by at least three inches.  Due to restrictions of U.S. Copyright Law, copying of modern and contemporary American and European works on display in the Tobin and Beaux Arts Galleries is not allowed.  Visitors may not sketch works of art on loan to the museum, or works in temporary exhibitions on display in the Green Gallery or Friends of Art Gallery.  Work areas must be a minimum of four feet away from any artwork.  Copyists may not closely approach any work of art with drawing materials in hand.  Upon completing their work, visitors must make sure that the areas in which they have been working are completely clean.

Small scale painting is allowed in the Courtyard or on Skinner patio by appointment only.  Appointments must be during weekday visitor hours when museum staff is available (Tuesday-Friday, 10am-4pm).  Appointments shall not conflict with any scheduled museum events.  A refundable deposit of $100 is required.  This deposit shall be returned in full if the requestor leaves the areas in good condition, otherwise the deposit shall be retained to cover the cost of cleaning the spaces.  Artists must bring a large umbrella to protect their painting supplies from sudden downpours and must use drop cloths to protect the floors and benches from paint drops.

For more information or to schedule a research appointment, please contact:

Kara Schneiderman
Assistant Director for Collections and Exhibition Services
Lowe Art Museum
University of Miami
1301 Stanford Drive
Coral Gables, FL  33124-6310
PH  (305) 284-5423
Fax  (305) 284-2024
Email  kschneiderman@miami.edu