How can you determine whether an artwork is copyrighted? How do you procure a high-quality reproduction of an image? Is it ever legitimate to use the work of an artist without permission? Exploring intellectual property law as it pertains to visual imagery, this title discusses the uncertainties that plague writers who work with images.

Bielstein discusses the many uncertainties that plague writers who work with images in this highly visual age, and she does so based on her years navigating precisely these issues. As an editor who has hired a photographer to shoot an incredibly obscure work in the Italian mountains (a plan that backfired hilariously), who has tried to reason with artists' estates in languages she doesn't speak, and who has spent her time in the archival trenches, she offers a snappy and humane guide to this difficult terrain. Filled with anecdotes, asides, and real courage, "Permissions, A Survival Guide" is a unique handbook that anyone working in the visual arts will find invaluable, if not indispensable.