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Finding Images and Other Visual Resources: General Resources

There are more ways to find interesting and useful images than Google Image search. Learn how and where!

ARTstor Digital Library

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General Image Resources

 

Courtauld Institute of Art: Art and Architecture

Over 33,000 objects ranging from the Middle Ages to the 21st century and includes paintings, drawings, ceramics and sculptures, among others, is available to explore in its entirety online for free for the first time thanks to a new digital platform.
 

Digital Portrait Index

A German Research Foundation (DFG) project, this database contains over 257 000 graphic portraits of clerics, rulers, artists, merchants, etc., from major German museum and library collections.
  

Europeana

Europeana is a single access point to millions of books, paintings, films, museum objects and archival records that have been digitized throughout Europe. It is an authoritative source of information coming from European cultural and scientific institutions. 

 

Gallica : France, Bibliotheque Nationale and Partner Sites in France

Web Portal to digital collections in French public institutions selected for their compatibility with the collections of the BnF. These documents are available on their original sites.

 

Library of Congress American Memory Project

American Memory is the gateway to 9 million digitized items organized into 100 thematic collections from the Library of Congress’s vast resources that document U.S. history and culture. Original formats include manuscripts, prints, photographs, posters, maps, sound recordings, motion pictures, books, pamphlets, and sheet music. 

 

Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Online Catalog

This online catalog features nearly one million digital images taken from the Library's 50+ collections of prints and photographs. Included are images from the the National Child Labor Committee Collection, the U.S. News and World Report Magazine Photograph Collection, the Library of Congress Baseball Card Collection, and the Collection of Architecture, Design and Engineering Drawings. 

 

Metropolitan Museum of Art: Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History

The Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History is a chronological, geographical, and thematic exploration of the history of art from around the world, as illustrated by the Metropolitan Museum of Art's collection. The Metropolitan Museum's curatorial, conservation, and education staff research and write the Timeline, which is an invaluable reference and research tool for students, educators, scholars, and anyone interested in the study of art history and related subjects. The Timeline extends from prehistory to the present day and continues to expand in scope and depth, and reflect the most up-to-date scholarship.

 

National Gallery of Art, NGA Images, Washington, D.C.

NGA Images is a repository of digital images of the collections of the National Gallery of Art. On this website you can search, browse, share, and download images. A standards-based reproduction guide and a help section provide advice for both novices and experts. More than 20,000 open access digital images up to 3000 pixels each are available free of charge for download and use.

 

New York Public Library Digital Gallery

NYPL Digital Gallery offers over one million digital images of drawings, illuminated manuscripts, maps, photographs, posters, prints, rare illustrated books, and more. Collections cover artworks and objects, creators, dance, design, furniture, motion pictures, music, ornament, performance, spectacle, theatre, advertising, book binding, dust jackets, friendship books, menus, post cards, posters, trade and greeting cards. 

 

Oxford Art Online  

The collective resource of Grove Art Online and other Oxford databases with links to unique art collections around the world.

 

Oxford University | A Selection of Digital Initiative across the University and Museums

Over a million images of rare books, manuscripts, and other treasures from the Bodleian Libraries and Oxford college libraries.

 

Public Domain Images at Wikimedia

Wikimedia’s Public Domain Image Resource contains links to sites offering public domain digital images. The presence of a resource on this list does not guarantee that all or any of the images in it are in the public domain. 

 

Smithsonian Collections Search Center: Digital Collections

Over 18.3 million images, video and audio available from across the Smithsonian's vast collections

 

United Kingdom National Trust Image Collections

  Over one million images of British historic architecture and objects of material culture

 

World Digital Library

Digital library of primary materials from across the globe.