Lincoln Memorial University Libraries: Art History: Finding & Citing Images

Finding Images

Digital Collections
Free Stock Images

Below is a selection of digital collections that offer a wide range of images, many of which are in the public domain or have permissive licensing terms. Before using any image, please carefully review its copyright status and associated usage restrictions.

Appalachian Arts, The
Covers art and design news from the Appalachian region, focusing on local artists and community culture.
Art Institute of Chicago, Digital Publications
Offers digital versions of exhibition catalogs and scholarly works on the museum’s collection.
Art Institute of Chicago, The
Explore the extensive collection of the Art Institute, featuring paintings, sculptures, decorative arts, and more.
Art Institute of Chicago Public Domain Images
Access public domain artworks from the Art Institute of Chicago’s collection for research, study, and inspiration.
British Museum, The
Discover a world-class collection of art and artifacts from various civilizations, with detailed descriptions and images.
Brooklyn Museum Online Collections
Provides access to the Brooklyn Museum’s vast collection of art, including paintings, sculptures, and historical objects.
Calisphere, University of California's digital primary sources
Offers free access to California’s unique cultural heritage items, including photographs, documents, and audio recordings.
Camden Town Group in Context, Tate
Explore the work and influence of the Camden Town Group, a British art movement focused on everyday scenes.
Canadian Online Art Book Project
Provides free, scholarly art books focused on Canadian artists, available online for research and education.
Cleveland Museum of Art
The Cleveland Museum of Art provides over 30,000 public domain artworks in high resolution, ranging from ancient artifacts to modern works.
Europeana
A platform offering access to millions of cultural heritage items from European museums, galleries, and archives.
French Paintings and Pastels, 1600–1945
A collection of French paintings and pastels, highlighting important works from different eras and styles.
Gallica Bibliothèque Nationale de France
Digital library offering millions of documents, including books, manuscripts, maps, and images from France’s National Library.
Getty Museum, The
View and explore collections ranging from classical antiquities to modern art in this world-renowned museum.
Getty Publications Virtual Library
Free access to a wide range of Getty’s art books and scholarly publications on art history and conservation.
Google Arts & Culture
Explore high-resolution images and detailed descriptions of artworks, historical objects, and cultural landmarks worldwide.
Harvard Digital Collections
Provides access to Harvard’s extensive digital collections, including manuscripts, photographs, maps, and other historical resources.
Library of Congress
Explore the world’s largest library collection, featuring digital access to books, maps, photographs, and historical documents.
Library of Congress Prints & Photographs Online Catalog
Provides digital access to millions of historical prints and photographs from the Library of Congress collection.
Life Photo Archive hosted by Google
A massive archive of historical photos from LIFE magazine, covering significant moments in 20th-century history.
Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Catalogue on Southeast Asian Art
Browse an in-depth catalog of Southeast Asian art with detailed analyses and high-quality images.
Los Angeles Museum of Art (LACMA), The
Access LACMA’s vast collection online, featuring art from ancient to modern times, across diverse cultures and media.
METPublications
Explore scholarly publications by the Metropolitan Museum of Art, including exhibition catalogs and art history research.
Metropolitan Museum of Art, The (Met)
Discover one of the world’s largest art collections, covering over 5,000 years of global cultural history.
Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), The
View MoMA’s world-class modern and contemporary art collection, including paintings, films, and multimedia works.
NASA Images
Browse a collection of images from NASA, showcasing space exploration, celestial objects, and scientific advancements.
National Gallery, London, The
Offers access to a wide range of European paintings from the 13th to 19th centuries, including detailed analyses.
National Gallery of Art, The
Explore the U.S. National Gallery’s extensive collection of fine art, ranging from Renaissance masterpieces to contemporary works.
National Gallery of Denmark (SMK) – Public Domain Collection
SMK’s digital collection offers free access to thousands of high-resolution images of artworks, including Danish Golden Age paintings, modern art, and European masterpieces.
National Oceanographic & Atmospheric Administration Library Photo Library
Provides a comprehensive collection of images related to oceans, weather, marine life, and environmental research.
New York Public Library Digital Gallery
Access digitized historical materials from the NYPL, including maps, posters, manuscripts, and photographs.
Paris Musées
Explore collections from museums across Paris, featuring fine arts, decorative arts, and historical artifacts.
Rijksmuseum, The
View highlights from the Rijksmuseum’s collection, including works by Rembrandt, Vermeer, and other Dutch masters.
Smithsonian Institution, The
Access open-source digital content, including millions of items from Smithsonian museums, research centers, and archives.
Smithsonian Institution Collections Search
Search across multiple Smithsonian Institution collections for artifacts, photographs, and objects related to science, art, and history.
Swiss National Library Image Documents
Offers digital access to Swiss cultural and historical images, including photographs, manuscripts, and documents.
Victoria & Albert Museum
Explore the V&A’s world-renowned collection of decorative arts and design, from textiles to furniture and fashion.
Walker Art Center, Living Collections Catalogue
Delve into Walker Art Center’s dynamic and interactive collections, which emphasize contemporary and multimedia art.
World of the Japanese Illustrated Book, The
Discover the Pulverer Collection, offering insight into the history of Japanese woodblock-printed illustrated books.
Yale University Images
Access Yale’s digital collections, featuring images from art, cultural artifacts, historical documents, and more.

Be sure to check image licenses for information about how to credit images you find from free stock image providers. A great blog post with links to a variety of free stock image sites can be found here: https://blog.snappa.com/free-stock-photos/

Creative Commons Image Search
Creative Commons offers creators the means to protect their works (here, images) while encouraging certain uses of them — to declare “some rights reserved.”
Creative Commons Search--old search
Curationist
Curationist a space for finding and collecting significant cultural and historical resources that are not limited by copyright. Curationist strives for inclusion, integrated value creation and innovation as an unfixed and intersectional hub of many cultures.
Free Images
Gender Spectrum Collection
This is is a stock photo library featuring images of trans and non-binary models that go beyond the clichés. This collection aims to help media better represent members of these communities as people not necessarily defined by their gender identities—people with careers, relationships, talents, passions, and home lives.
Getty Free Images
Browse Getty's free stock photos and images available, or search for free of charge or freedom concept to find more great stock photos and pictures.
Image*After
Image*After is a large online free photo collection. The interface looks dated, but it allows users to download images, or, more notably, textures, and use them in personal or commercial work.
morgueFile
morgueFile is a "public image reference archive."
OpenPhoto.Net
OpenPhoto.Net offers free stock photos.
Pexels
Free stock photos you can use everywhere. Free for commercial use, and no attribution required.
Pixabay
Over 570000 high quality photos, illustrations, and vector graphics. Free for commercial use. No attribution required.
Unsplash
Over 1 million free high-resolution images brought to you by the world’s most generous community of photographers.
Vecteezy
Vecteezy (formerly Compfight) is an image search engine tailored to efficiently locate images for blogs, comps, inspiration, and research.
Wikimedia Commons Images
Wikimedia Commons is a media repository of free-use images, sounds, other media, and JSON files. It is a project of the Wikimedia Foundation.

Infographic: Can I Use That Picture?

Click image to enlarge:

Newbold, Curtis. Can I Use that Picture? The Terms, Laws, and Ethics for Using Copyrighted Images. 2014, The Visual Communication Guy. thevisualcommunicationguy.com/2014/07/14/can-i-use-that-picture/. Accessed 9 Oct. 2024.

U.S. Copyright Office

The U.S. Copyright Office's Fair Use Index provides legal cases illustrating how fair use applies across various types of media.

Image Tips

Creative Commons (link)

Licenses: Creative Commons offers a suite of licenses that allow creators to specify how their work can be used, shared, and modified. These licenses can range from very restrictive to highly permissive, giving users flexibility in how they utilize the content.
Purpose: The goal of Creative Commons is to expand the range of creative works available to the public and to foster collaboration and innovation.

Wikimedia Commons (link)

Repository: Wikimedia Commons is a vast repository of freely licensed multimedia content, such as images, videos, and audio files.
Connection to Wikipedia: It's primarily used to illustrate articles on Wikipedia and other Wikimedia projects.
Licensing: All content on Wikimedia Commons must be licensed under a Creative Commons license, ensuring that it can be freely used and shared.

Government Images

Tip: If you need images for your project and want to avoid copyright issues, consider using images from the U.S. government. These images are often in the public domain, meaning you can use them without needing permission.

How to find them:

Search Google Images: Use the search bar and add the keyword ".gov" to limit your results to government websites.
Check Image Rights: Before using any image, always verify its copyright status. Some government images might have specific usage guidelines.

By following these steps, you can find high-quality images for your projects without worrying about copyright infringement.

Click image to enlarge:

Flickr

Flickr is a popular online platform where users can share and discover photographs. With billions of images available, it's a valuable resource for researchers seeking visuals related to news events, locations, individuals, and more.

Creative Commons Licenses: Many Flickr users choose to share their images under Creative Commons licenses, which offer alternative copyright terms. These licenses allow others to use, modify, and distribute the images under specific conditions, making them more accessible for research and other purposes.
Advanced Search Options: Flickr's advanced search features enable you to refine your search by date, content type, media type, and Creative Commons license. This helps you find images that align precisely with your research needs.
The Commons: Flickr also hosts "The Commons," a collection of images that are considered to be in the public domain. These images have no known copyright restrictions, making them freely available for use without attribution.

Art History: Finding & Citing Images

Finding Images

Infographic: Can I Use That Picture?

U.S. Copyright Office

Image Tips

Creative Commons (link)

Government Images

Citing Images

General Caption

MLA 9th Ed.

APA 7th Ed.