Research Guides: Art & Art History: Images of Art

The research and study of art and art history cannot happen without actually viewing art. Unfortunately, unless you have an unlimited travel budget, you likely will not be able to spend time just with originals. The sources on this page will help you find high-quality images of art works using the library and the public web.

Image credit: Retrato de Muchacha (Portrait of a Girl) (1931) by Frida Kahlo

Copyright

Copyright is an important consideration when using images of art works. Art under copyright protection generally cannot be shared or altered without permission.

Exceptions:

There may be fair use exceptions to needing permission when using the images for research or teaching.
The terms of service for some of the library databases give permission for certain uses of the images.
Older art (pre-1923) is generally in the public domain, which means it no longer falls under copyright protections.

Library Sources

Resources available to your as a student of Southeast Missouri State University.

Databases

ARTstor This link opens in a new window
Massive digital collection of works of art and architecture. Use the Advanced Search feature to find works by a particular artist, in a certain medium or using a specific technique, or from a particular time period or geographic location. Help guides & videos.
Oxford Art Online This link opens in a new window
Library database. An art reference resource that contains subject entries, biographies, and images.
Credo Reference This link opens in a new window
Credo includes the Bridgeman Images collections and collections from the National Gallery in London.

Finding Art Collections Through the Catalog

Kent Library has numerous books with large, high-quality prints of artistic works. You can search the catalog to find them. Many are oversized and are likely kept on the top or bottom shelves of the bookshelf they are on.

Many of those collections have a subject heading with the word "exhibitions" in it, so adding "exhibitions" to your topic in a search will help to bring up those books in your results.

Kent Library Catalog
Searches the print and ebook collections of Kent Library. Also will find videos.

Web Sources

Freely-available images of art made available by museums and other cultural institutions worldwide.

Canadian Art Database (CCA)
62,000+ images and media files, texts, video portraits, and more covering prominent Canadian artists (visual, media, performance, graphic, designers, writers, curators).
The Getty - Open Content
Over 87,000 images. "The Getty makes available, without charge, all available digital images to which the Getty holds the rights or that are in the public domain to be used for any purpose. No permission is required." (from The Getty website) You can limit your search to photographs.
Google Arts and Culture
Includes over 37,000 images.
International Center of Photography
135,000 images as well as interviews with photographers and other artists.
Museum of Modern Art
Search over 74,000 works.
New York Public Library Digital Gallery
Thousands of lithographs, photographs, turn of the century posters, and more make up the NYPL rich digital collections.
The Smithsonian’s Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery
More than 40,000 objects can be freely viewed online. Asian and American artwork.
Tate Museums
Great Britain's national collections of art covering 1500 to the present. View in full screen over 1,000 images. Assemble images into a digital album to share.
World Digital Library - The arts:fine & decorative arts
Rich international, historical collection.

List of image sites intially developed by Claudia Ruediger.

Collections from the discontinued CAMIO database

The following links comprise the collections that were included in the recently discontinued Catalog of Art Museum Images Online (CAMIO)

Art & Art History

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