Get the Getty... Getty Trust opens 4600 free (and original resolution) images in its Open Content Program...

groovy post - Getty Trust Launches 4600+ Free Images in Open Content Program

Are you a fan of classic art? John Paul Getty was also. And this week the Getty Trust launched a new Open Content program that is making available high-res digital reproductions of all classical artwork which the Getty Trust holds the rights to including works from the J. Paul Getty Museum collections, Getty Research Institute and the Getty Conservation Institute. The collections are some of the best in the world including featured pieces by Monet, da Vinci, van Gogh, and Rembrandt. All free of charge to anyone on the planet!

Click here to view all 4,689 entries in the Open Content program.

The best part of this announcement is that the full original resolutions of these images are already up and publicly available to download, completely free of charge. This brings some of the file sizes end up quite large, some over 100 MB in size. The full resolution doesn’t have a link on the gallery page however, to access it you’ll have to visit the individual record (page) for each piece of art.

...

The J. Paul Getty Trust Home - Open Content Program

The Getty makes available, without charge, all available digital images to which the Getty holds the rights or that are in the public domain to be used for any purpose. No permission is required.
Please see the related press release and Getty president and CEO Jim Cuno's announcement on The Getty Iris for additional information.

Why Open Content?
The Getty adopted the Open Content Program because we recognized the need to share images of works of art in an unrestricted manner, freely, so that all those who create or appreciate art—scholars, artists, art lovers, and entrepreneurs—will have greater access to high-quality digital images for their studies and projects. Art inspires us, and imagination and creativity lead to artistic expressions that expand knowledge and understanding. The Getty sincerely hopes that people will use the open content images for a wide range of activities and that they will share the fruits of their labors with others.

Access to Open Content Images
Initially, the images available through the Open Content Program are of works in the J. Paul Getty Museum's collections. Over time, images from the Getty Research Institute and the Getty Conservation Institute will be added. Museum images can be found on the Museum's Collection webpages or on the Getty Search Gateway. Those available as open content images are identified with a "Download" link. Images provided are JPEG files at a minimum of 300 DPI. See the Guidelines for Successful Printing (PDF) for more information on file format.
If you need new photography, resizing, or color correction, you can request those services by Contacting Museum Rights & Reproductions. A fee (PDF) will be charged for this service.

Public Domain and Rights
Open content images are digital surrogates of works of art that are in the Getty's collections and in the public domain, for which we hold all rights, or for which we are not aware of any rights restrictions. Rights restrictions are based on copyright, trademark, privacy and publicity laws, and contractual obligations. If an image you want is not designated as an open content image, it is because one or more of the above identified legal rights restricts our ability to make that content available under this program. While the Getty reviews the metadata about each picture before making it available as an open content image, there may be some underlying rights that were unknown to us. For that reason, we strongly recommend that users consider the possibility that rights of third parties may be involved, and permission for those rights may need to be obtained by the user for the proposed use.

Fair Use
Open content images can be used for any purpose without first seeking permission from the Getty. Images of many other works in the collections are also on our website in varying formats. The Getty supports fair use of images when the applicable legal criteria are met. For more information on use of digital images of works in the Getty's collections, please refer to the Getty's Terms of Use.

...

Open Content Search

Now I didn't see an API, but still think an app or Getty Paper of the Day or thing would be very possible... :)