Library Home: Art Research: Open Access Image Databases

Tips for Using Open Source Images

All resources used in research must be cited, including Open Source/Open Access sources. Remember not all Open Access Images are licensed the same way. Always double-check the usage rights for any image that you plan on using, no matter the nature of your use. If the usage rights are not on the main page of the site, look for a How can I use it section of each description. If you still have questions about using an open image ask your professor or the librarian.

Keep in mind these possible related limitations on image use:

Trademark: While an image may be open access, if it contains a trademarked image, this may complicate use of the image.
Model (Privacy) Release: If the image is of a recognizable person / model, and that model did not allow for commercial use of their likeness, it may complicate use of the image.
Attribution / Terms of Use: While some images may be available for re-use, the person / corporation who holds the copyright will probably require recognition when you use an image. Always check the terms and agreements before copying an image.

Courtesy Drexel University Libraries

Image Databases

Artsy
Artsy is for collecting art, the site features the world’s leading galleries, museum collections, foundations, artist estates, art fairs, and benefit auctions. The database contains over a million works or art, architecture, and design by 100,000 artists spanning historical, modern, and contemporary works.
Digital Library for the Decorative Arts and Material Culture
Courtesy of University of Wisconsin-Madison. This database collects and creates electronic resources for study and research of the decorative arts, with a focus on Early America. It includes electronic texts and facsimiles, image databases, and web resources.
Europeana
Courtesy of the European Union. Europeana Collections provide access to approx. 50 million digitized items – books, music, artwork and more.
Google Arts & Culture
Image database featuring museum collections and images from historic events. Search by collection, art movement, artist, or theme.
Index of Medieval Art
Courtesy of Princeton University. "The collections include images and descriptive data related to the iconography of works of art produced between late Antiquity and the sixteenth century."
iPhoto Central
This is a searchable database of photographs and includes articles on collecting issues (such as connisseurship and print values; insurance and risk, etc.)
MET Digital Collection
Image and article database with MET objects as well as information on topics such as conservation and cultural heritage.
Victoria & Albert Museum
Search the Victoria & Albert Museum collections.

Open Access does not mean free for the taking. It means the source is available to be used responsibly. All sources used in research must be given proper credit.