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Finding images: Art images

Use this guide to find downloadable or browsable images for papers, presentations, teaching, and research.

Featured collections

Artstor
ImageBase
Associated Press collections online, AP collections online

Search using SUNet ID

Additional art image resources

Maintained by San Jose State University, the WorldImages database provides access to the California State University IMAGE Project.  It contains approximately 100,000 images, is global in coverage, and includes all areas of visual imagery.

A subset of the Archives of American Art's Collections Online, the Archives of American Art Image Gallery includes photographic images of artists, exhibition installations, manuscripts, and events.

A crowd-sourced collection of approximately 50,000 images. Subject matter is currently limited to European and American paintings and works on paper.  Copyright and fair use advice accompanies images for which these conditions apply.

A UK-based source for art historical image collections, the VADS site brings together resources from British cultural institutions for the purposes of access and preservation. It is particularly strong in the areas of material culture and design. Copyright restrictions vary by collection; ample explanatory information is provided.

A cooperative that provides photographs to the press, publishers, advertising, television, galleries and museums across the world. The Magnum Photos library houses all the work produced by Magnum photographers and some special collections by non-members. There are approximately one million photographs in both print and transparency in the physical library, with over 500,000 images available online. These images may be licensed for editorial and commercial use; they are not specifically licensed for academic use.  All images are under copyright.