Treasured Images from America’s Heritage and Contemporary Culture Become Available for Editorial and Commercial Use

SEATTLE (January 24, 2007) - Corbis (www.corbis.com), a world leader in digital media, today announced it will begin licensing widely-recognized digital imagery for the Smithsonian Institution, offering creative professionals a one stop venue to access photography and images of famous objects in American history and contemporary culture.

This is the first time the Smithsonian Institution, one of the world’s preeminent cultural organizations with 19 museums and galleries, is working with a visual content provider to license the breadth and depth of its imagery for editorial and commercial use worldwide. It includes a broad spectrum of imagery, from historical photography, cultural objects, paintings, prints, sculptures, textiles, scientific instruments, and natural specimens, to aircraft and space vehicles.

“Corbis is proud to work with the world-class Smithsonian Institution to bring its impressive catalogue to the global marketplace,” said Steve Davis, CEO, Corbis. “Images from the Smithsonian complement our other famous collections from Andy Warhol, The National Gallery, London, zefa, The Bettmann Collection and others to ensure Corbis is the best place for advertisers, marketers and the editorial community to find the superior imagery they need to succeed.”

The partnership plans to provide hundreds of images from Smithsonian museums such as the National Museum of American History, the National Museum of Natural History, the Smithsonian American Art Museum, the National Air and Space Museum, the National Portrait Gallery, the National Museum of African Art, the Freer Gallery of Art, the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, and the National Museum of the American Indian.

“We are excited to be working with Corbis, a global leader in image licensing, to expand access to Smithsonian’s vast archival resources and offer images that have never before been available in high quality digital format," said Gary Beer, CEO, Smithsonian Business Ventures. "The capabilities of Corbis, their relationships with editorial and commercial clients, and their reputation for high quality, were all reasons that we have chosen to work with them. We expect this partnership will foster a stronger global awareness for the Institution and its archives, and generate important revenue that supports its educational mission."

The first of the Smithsonian images were recently added to Corbis.com, with plans to increase the numbers significantly by the end of 2007. Imagery available includes Charles E. "Chuck" Yeager’s Bell X-1, Alexander Graham Bell’s invention, the telephone, and the 45.52-carat Hope Diamond.

About Corbis
Corbis is a world leader in digital media. By providing the industry's richest array of digital image licensing, rights services, artist representation and media management, Corbis enables creative innovation for advertising, corporate marketing and editorial clients. Corbis is headquartered in Seattle, with 23 offices throughout North America, Europe and Asia.

About Smithsonian Institution
Smithsonian Institution is the world's largest museum and research complex consisting of 17 museums and the National Zoo in Washington, D.C., and 2 museums in New York City, and extends its global outreach with 145 affiliate museums and 9 research centers.