Why much of Canada’s national art collection is not available online

Canada’s National Gallery holds over 87,000 artworks, but only 15,000 digital images are available online due to restrictive copyright laws. Art dealer Simon Bentley argues that publicly owned art should be accessible to all Canadians without the need for in-person visits. The gallery states it pays reproduction fees under Canadian copyright law, and experts suggest that a lack of clarity in the law leads institutions to err on the side of caution, limiting digital access.

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