ART103-B | Learning to See: Histories of Art & Architecture in the Western Tradition
Image Information
Remember, as you're researching, it's important to keep track of information for each image that you come across. Below is a list of information that you should record.
Information to Collect:
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Image creator's name (artist, photographer, etc.)
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Title of the image
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Date the image (or work represented by the image) was created
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Institution (gallery, museum) where the image is located / owned (if applicable)
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Date of access (the date you accessed the online image)
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Website and/or Database name
Using Images: Copyright & Fair Use
Remember that it's just as necessary to cite your images as it is to cite scholarly papers and books in your academic work. Always check the particular citation style that you're using to ensure you're giving proper credit to the image creator.
In most academic work that is released to a global audience, i.e. a published book or article, the author(s) must obtain the rights to any photographs or images featured. This can be as simple as obtaining written permission from the copyright holder, or can often mean paying a fee to use the image. For your own work here at F&M, your use of images generally falls under Fair Use, as long as it's for your classwork or a closed class presentation. Always check in with your librarian to make sure you're using images ethically!
Image Databases
Image Databases through F&M
The first list of resources below are image-heavy resources that are provided to you through subscription by the College Library. Most require a login, or for you to access the database from the College wireless network.
- Artstor Digital Library (JSTOR Images) This link opens in a new windowMore than 2 million high-quality images for education and research from a wide variety of collections around the world. Artstor is a part of JSTOR Images.
- Bridgeman Images: The Bridgeman Art Library This link opens in a new windowA unique and comprehensive collection of art masterpieces of all varieties: historical, European, Asian, American and more, licensed from museums, libraries, auction houses, artist estates and galleries.
- Oxford Art Online This link opens in a new windowAccess point for Grove Art Online and other Oxford art reference resources.
Freely Available Image Databases
The second list of resources listed below are databases or repositories of images that have been made publicly available to anyone with access to a computer and the Internet. Remember to always check the rights statement before using an image on these repositories - just because it's online, doesn't mean it's free to use.
- Artstor Shared Shelf CommonsA companion feature of Artstor, Shared Shelf Commons is a free, open-access library of images with much of the same image functionality of Artstor.
- ArtsyThere are over 25,000 images in Artsy, which covers a broad range of artworks. If an image has a "Download" button, it is either in the public domain or rights-free and generally safe to download and use.
- Creative Commons Image SearchSearch for images with Creative Commons (CC) licenses through this database. Ensure you select the sources you want to be searched, as there are many options.
- Europeana CollectionsExplore over 58 million unique artifacts, images, books, films, and music from European cultural institutions.
- Flickr CommonsSearch the Flickr Commons for images with no known copyright restrictions, from a variety of institutions and collections.
- Flickr Public DomainFind images in the public domain on Flickr through this group.
- Getty Search GatewaySearch over one hundred thousand images from the great collections at the Getty Museum of Art in LA, including photographs, prints, drawings, manuscripts, and more.
- Heilbrunn Timeline of Art HistoryThe newly updated Met’s Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History pairs essays and works of art with chronologies, telling the story of art and global culture through the Museum’s collection.
- Library of Congress Digital CollectionsThe LoC Digital Collections feature a wide range of digitized resources, including maps, the famous FSA photographs, and other visual materials for your research use.
- Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) Digital CollectionsSearch for images from the LACMA collections through this portal, where you can filter to show only items with images as well as only public domain images.
- The New York Public Library Digital GalleryOpen access to over 800,000 images digitized from primary sources and printed rarities in the collections of The New York Public Library, including illuminated manuscripts, historical maps, vintage posters, rare prints, and photographs.
- Smithsonian Archives of American Art CollectionsSearch over sixteen thousand records from the Archives of American Art, including photographs, correspondence, and other visual material.
- Yale Digital Content & CollectionsSearch nearly two million items and half a million images from across Yale's wide range of collections, including images from the Yale Center for British Art, Yale Peabody Museum, and the Yale University Art Gallery.
Artstor
Artstor is a great image database, with over 2 million high-quality images that you can access anywhere through the Library's subscription. In order to take full advantage of the collections and features of Artstor, you do need to sign up for an account.
When you login to Artstor, either at http://library.artstor.org or through the F&M Library homepage, this is the home screen you will see:
From here, you can search the Artstor database by keyword, or advanced search, and navigate your own collections.