The Palm Springs Art Museum has received an anonymous gift of more than 500 images to add to its photo collection.

The addition is composed of photographs and limited-edition books with original photography dating from the mid-1800s to the late 20th century. It contains early works from Francis Firth and James Anderson, as well as later works from Alfred Stieglitz, Heinrich Kuhn and Julia Cameron. Many contemporary masters including Jock Sturges and Andre Kertesz are also featured.

These new works add some of the first examples of European photography...

The North American Nature Photography Association (NANPA) has added group health insurance to its list of member benefits. Through USI Affinity, NANPA members and their families now have access to multiple plans and an extensive network of national providers.

The organization counts among its membership a higher-than-average number of people who, as freelancers, have never been able to take advantage of group rates.

 Enrollees in NANPA's Member Health Insurance Program will have access to 750,000 providers nationwide and will have...

Annie Leibovitz has come under attack recently for a photo she took of Miley Cyrus, the 15-year-old Disney Channel star of "Hannah Montana."

The image, created for Vanity Fair, reveals a topless Cyrus clinging to a satin sheet with her back toward the camera. The Disney Channel commented that "a situation was created to deliberately manipulate a 15-year-old in order to sell magazines."

Cyrus, also the daughter of country singer Billy Ray Cyrus, apologized to her fans and said she was "embarrassed" by the photos.

Leibovitz issued a personal statement on April 28, saying, "I'm sorry that my portrait of Miley...

Photographers Arthur Grace and Chris Usher have both won settlements in cases brought against Corbis Corp. for the loss of images they submitted to the stock agency. The settlements total more than $800,000.

The court compensated Grace at $667,685 for 45,000 lost images and Usher at $157,121 for 12,640 images. Grace had originally sought $100 million in damages, while Usher asked for $4.5 million. An original 2005 ruling awarded Grace $472,000, which he appealed for being inadequate.

Grace sued Corbis in 2002 when the agency failed to return...

The estates of two photographers closely associated with Marilyn Monroe have won the rights to freely license their images of the actress. In March, a federal court judge in California clarified the Right of Publicity for the Milton H. Greene Archives and Tom Kelley Studios.

Previously, rights had been claimed by Marilyn Monroe LLC (MMLLC) and CMG Worldwide, making it difficult for the Greene Archives and Kelley Studios to license many images. A May 2007 court decision ruled that Monroe had no publicity rights to her image...

The U.S. Senate and House of Representatives have each introduced versions of an "orphan works" bill this April. Orphan works are created compositions that are copyrighted but for which it is difficult to locate the copyright owner or the owner is unknown.

The Copyright Office has attempted to make orphan works public domain for many artists and institutions. In 2006, a similar bill was introduced but was highly unpopular with many groups and was later withdrawn.

Both new proposals would require the creation of an extensive public database of current works before either bill could become law, a feature lacking in...

The same day that Getty Images announced that it had accepted a $2.4 billion buyout by private-equity firm Hellman & Friedman, shareholders filed a class-action lawsuit claiming that the stock agency had not looked after their interests and had accepted an undervalued bid.

The long-rumored deal, worth $34 per share, was confirmed on Feb. 25 and is expected to close in the second or third quarter of this year. The merger has been approved by Getty's board of directors, it was still subject to shareholder approval at press time.

Securities and Exchange Commission filings for the transaction indicate that Getty had left room for better offers. Bids well over $40 per share had been tendered by other parties, but in settling with Hellman & Friedman, Getty had to take into account...

Sotheby's reported record bids for its photography sales in New York on April 7 and 8. All three auctions on the block during the two-day period exceeded estimates, for a total of more than $17.3 million.

Twenty-five artists were represented in the works at auction, including record-setting sales for Diane Arbus, Paul Strand and Edward Weston. According to Denise Bethel, director of Sotheby's photographs department, only 26 of 300 lots did not sell.

The April 7 evening sale of the Quillan Collection of 19th and 20th century photographs spotlighted 68 unique images dating from 1847 to...