The Documentary Drawings collections contain original drawings, spanning 1750 to 1970 by a variety of artists. People wishing to publish or otherwise distribute items from this collection must conduct item-specific assessments of the rights which may be associated with the specific pieces.

All information documented by P&P staff regarding publication and/or copyright claimants has been recorded in the catalog record for the item in question. When the Library is aware of restriction information for a specific artist, a statement is available, listed on the Rights and Restrictions Information page under the artist's name. Copyright for other works is determined by guidelines on the duration of copyright; see Copyright and Other Restrictions That Apply to Publication/Distribution of Images: Assessing the Risk of Using a P&P Image - How Long Copyrights Last.

Digitized Images

Researchers can download existing digital files.

• Images that have a Rights Advisory of "No known restrictions on publication" display and make available for downloading larger jpeg and tiff files no matter where you are searching from. You can include "No known restrictions" in your search to try to focus on rights-free images.
• Images that have a Rights Advisory of "Publication may be restricted" will display only thumbnail images outside Library of Congress buildings. Researchers can download larger files for such images when on site in any of the Library of Congress buildings while using Library public workstations or wireless connection. In downloading such images, researchers acknowledge that they are responsible for clearing any necessary permissions for use of potentially rights restricted images. Alternatively, researchers can purchase downloads of larger files through Library of Congress Duplication Services (see link below), acknowledging in placing the order that they are responsible for clearing any necessary permissions.

Drawings Not Already Digitized

On-site researchers can make reference photographs of prints with a hand-held camera (no lights or tripod). For more information, see: Basic Camera Copying in the Prints & Photographs Reading Room link below, under Further Information.

Researchers can purchase quality scans of prints through Library of Congress Duplication Services. In placing an order, researchers should cite the call number of the drawing.