Get Started - Finding and Using Images
This page is a short list of our most recommended tools for finding images and learning how to legally and correctly use and cite them. You can find more specialized resources in the tabs menu.
Find Images of Art and Architecture
Other than the Artstor database, the most significant source of images of artwork are museum websites. The Metropolitan Museum's online collections are linked here as one of the largest freely available resources, but you can find more on the Art and Architecture tab.
- ARTstor This link opens in a new window
ARTstor is a database of images from museums, artists, libraries, colleges and universities, scholars, private collections, and photo archives available for teaching, education, and scholarship, with all images cleared for educational use.
- The Metropolitan Museum of Art - Online CollectionFind images of more than 490,000 artworks in the Metropolitan Museum of Art's collection, including over 406,000 high resolution public domain images.
Find Scientific and Historical Images
- Smithsonian Collections Search CenterSearch over 18.3 million records of museum objects, archives and library materials including more than 8.1 million online images, audio & videos and blog posts.
- Library of Congress, Prints & Photographs Online CatalogThe Prints and Photographs Online Catalog of the Library of Congress contains photographs, fine and popular prints and drawings, posters, and architectural and engineering drawings. While international in scope, the collections focus primarily on the history and culture of the United States.
Find Open Access Images
Open access and public domain images are images that you can use in your own projects for free.
One way to search for open access images is through Google Images. After searching for your keywords, on the results page, click on the "Tools" button beneath the search bar. From the menu bar that appears under it, select "Creative Commons licenses" from the "Usage rights" drop-down box.
Many museum websites also offer open access and public domain images. There are also a number of free stock image websites offering free, open access photographs and illustrations, including:
