This is a selection of digital image collections and other image resources most likely to be of interest to artists, architects, and art historians at Washington University.
There are restrictions on the use of most images. Please be careful, and study the conditions that apply to each resource. For more information, check out the University of Texas Crash Course in Copyright or the Franklin Pierce Law Center's Copyright in Visual Arts.
American Memory Collection, Library of
Congress
The following resources from the American Memory Collection have
significant visual arts image components. Use restrictions for all American Memory collections
- America from the Great Depression to World War II: Photographs from the FSA and OWI, ca. 1935-1945, American Memory Collection. Over 55,000 black-and-white and1600 color photographs which are among the most famous documentary photographs ever produced. In the early years, the project emphasized rural life and the negative impact of the Great Depression, farm mechanization, and the Dust Bowl. In later years, the photographers turned their attention to the mobilization effort for World War II.
- America's First Look into the Camera: Daguerreotype Portraits and Views, 1839-1862, American Memory Project. Approximately 600 photographs dating from 1839 to 1862. Portrait daguerreotypes produced by the Mathew Brady studio make up the major portion of the collection. Also includes early architectural views by John Plumbe.
- American Indians of the Pacific Northwest, American Memory Collection. 2,300 photographs and 7,700 pages of text relating to the American Indians in two cultural areas of the Pacific Northwest, the Northwest Coast and Plateau.
- American Landscape and Architectural Design, 1850-1920: a Study Collection from the Harvard Graduate School of Design, American Memory Collection. 2,800 lantern slides of American buildings and landscapes built during 1850-1920. It represents the work of Harvard faculty, such as Frederick Law Olmsted Jr., as well as that of prominent landscape architects throughout the country.
- Architecture and Interior Design for 20th Century America: Photographs by Samuel Gottscho and William Schleisner, 1935-1955, American Memory Collection. Over 29,000 photographs primarily of architectural subjects concentrated chiefly in the eastern United States.
- Baseball Cards, 1887-1914, American Memory Collection. 2,100 early baseball cards dating from 1887 to 1914.
- Built in America: Historic American Buildings Survey/Historic American Engineering Record, American Memory Collection. Documents architecture, engineering and design in the United States through a comprehensive range of building types and engineering technologies. Includes measured drawings, large-format photographs, and written histories for more than 35,000 historic structures and sites dating from the 17th to the 20th century.
- By the People, For the People: Posters from the WPA, 1936-1943, American Memory Collection. 907 boldly colored and graphically diverse original posters produced from 1936 to 1943.
- Creative Americans: Portraits by Carl Van Vechten, 1932-1964, American Memory Collection. Almost 1400 photographs, primarily studio portraits of people involved in the arts.
- Origins of American Animation, American Memory Collection. 21 animated films and 2 fragments, from1900 to 1921. The films include clay, puppet, and cut-out animation, as well as pen drawings.
- Quilts and Quiltmaking in America, 1978-1996, American Memory Collection. Materials from the Blue Ridge Parkway Folklife Project Collection (1978) and the Lands' End All-American Quilt Contest Collection (1992, 1994, 1996). Represents a wide range of quiltmaking, from traditional to innovative, and excellent design and technical skill in a variety of styles and materials.
- Selected Civil War Photographs, American Memory Collection. 1,118 photographs, most made under the supervision of Mathew B. Brady. Includes scenes of military personnel, preparations for battle, and battle after-effects, portraits of officers and enlisted men.
- Taking the Long View: Panoramic Photographs, 1851-1991, American Memory Collection. Approximately 4,000 images featuring American cityscapes, landscapes, and group portraits.
- Touring Turn-of-the-Century America: Photographs from the Detroit Publishing Company, 1880 - 1920, American Memory Collection. Over 25,000 glass negatives and transparencies as well as about 300 color photolithograph prints.
Other Image Collections
Ad
Access Presents images and database information for over
7,000 advertisements printed in U.S. and Canadian newspapers and
magazines between 1911 and 1955. Ad*Access concentrates on five
main subject areas: Radio, Television, Transportation, Beauty and
Hygiene, and World War II, providing a coherent view of a number
of major campaigns and companies through images preserved in one
particular advertising collection available at Duke
University.
AMICA via LUNA Over 100,000 works of art digitized from major art museums in the United States, Canada, and the UK are represented in this database. Coverage includes Greco-Roman,Egyptian, African, Asian, South American, Oceania, Pre-Columbian and North American. Modern and Contemporary work is also represented.
Image Citation Guidelines for AMICA (previously AMICO)
More LUNA collections
AP Images An electronic library containing the Associated Press's current photos and a selection of pictures from their 50 million image print and negative library. Access to this site is limited to WU students, faculty, and staff. Use Restrictions
Artchive An organized compendium of images, texts, and online exhibitions by Mark Harden. Use Restrictions
Art Images for College Teaching
Images available for Educational use, primarily ancient, medieval, and Renaissance European art and architecture.
Arts & Humanities Data Service
AHDS is based at the Surrey Institute of Art & Design aims to provide collections of visual arts digital resources and advice for their creation and use. It includes image databases from the Imperial War Museum, London College of Fashion, John Johnson Collection of Political Prints, National Arts Education Archive, The Design Council Archive, and others. Use Restrictions
ARTstor The ARTstor Charter Collection currently contains approximately 500,000 images; it documents artistic traditions across many times and cultures and embraces architecture, painting, sculpture, photography, decorative arts, and design as well as many other forms of visual culture. ARTstor System Requirements and Technical Specifications
ARTstor Collections include: the Slide Gallery, the Art History Survey Collection, the Carnegie Arts of the U. S. Collection, the Hartill Archive of Architecture and Allied Arts, the Huntington Archive of Asian Art, the Illustrated Bartsch, the Mellon International Dunhuang Archive, and the Museum of Modern Art, Architecture & Design Collection.
Artists' Books by Women Artists in the Holly Hall Book Arts Collection, Washington University
Collage An image database containing 20,000 works from the Guildhall Library and Guildhall Art Gallery London. "All images are copyright Corporation of London and may not be copied or reproduced for any purpose."
Detroit Institute of Arts - Digitized Exhibition Catalogues (1886-1923) These digitized exhibition catalogues are divided into two sections: the Detroit Museum of Art (1891-1919) and the Detroit Institute of Arts (1919-present). The exhibition catalogues listed correspond with special exhibitions, including selections from the museum's collection, collections lent by other institutions or individuals for temporary display at the DMA or the DIA, as well as a combination of both.
David Rumsey Map Collection contains over 8,800 maps and focuses on rare 18th and 19th century North and South American cartographic history materials. Historic maps of the World, Europe, Asia and Africa are also represented.
The Emergence of Advertising in America: 1850 - 1920 Over 9,000 images relating to the early history of advertising in the United States. The materials, drawn from the Rare Book, Manuscript, and Special Collections Library at Duke University, provide a significant and informative perspective on the early evolution of this most ubiquitous feature of modern American business and culture. Copyright, Citation, and Reproduction Information
Farber Gravestone Collection contains over 13,500 photographic images documenting the sculpture on more than 9,000 gravestones, most of which were made prior to 1800.
Grove Dictionary of Art Online Articles covering all aspects of the visual arts worldwide from prehistory to the present day. Includes access to100,000 images of painting, sculpture, architecture and the decorative arts from the Bridgeman Art Library, as well as image links to museums, galleries, and art collections around the world. Access to this site is limted to WU students, faculty, and staff.
AMICA via LUNA Over 100,000 works of art digitized from major art museums in the United States, Canada, and the UK are represented in this database. Coverage includes Greco-Roman,Egyptian, African, Asian, South American, Oceania, Pre-Columbian and North American. Modern and Contemporary work is also represented.
Image Citation Guidelines for AMICA (previously AMICO)
More LUNA collections
AP Images An electronic library containing the Associated Press's current photos and a selection of pictures from their 50 million image print and negative library. Access to this site is limited to WU students, faculty, and staff. Use Restrictions
Artchive An organized compendium of images, texts, and online exhibitions by Mark Harden. Use Restrictions
Art Images for College Teaching
Images available for Educational use, primarily ancient, medieval, and Renaissance European art and architecture.
Arts & Humanities Data Service
AHDS is based at the Surrey Institute of Art & Design aims to provide collections of visual arts digital resources and advice for their creation and use. It includes image databases from the Imperial War Museum, London College of Fashion, John Johnson Collection of Political Prints, National Arts Education Archive, The Design Council Archive, and others. Use Restrictions
ARTstor The ARTstor Charter Collection currently contains approximately 500,000 images; it documents artistic traditions across many times and cultures and embraces architecture, painting, sculpture, photography, decorative arts, and design as well as many other forms of visual culture. ARTstor System Requirements and Technical Specifications
ARTstor Collections include: the Slide Gallery, the Art History Survey Collection, the Carnegie Arts of the U. S. Collection, the Hartill Archive of Architecture and Allied Arts, the Huntington Archive of Asian Art, the Illustrated Bartsch, the Mellon International Dunhuang Archive, and the Museum of Modern Art, Architecture & Design Collection.
Artists' Books by Women Artists in the Holly Hall Book Arts Collection, Washington University
Collage An image database containing 20,000 works from the Guildhall Library and Guildhall Art Gallery London. "All images are copyright Corporation of London and may not be copied or reproduced for any purpose."
Detroit Institute of Arts - Digitized Exhibition Catalogues (1886-1923) These digitized exhibition catalogues are divided into two sections: the Detroit Museum of Art (1891-1919) and the Detroit Institute of Arts (1919-present). The exhibition catalogues listed correspond with special exhibitions, including selections from the museum's collection, collections lent by other institutions or individuals for temporary display at the DMA or the DIA, as well as a combination of both.
David Rumsey Map Collection contains over 8,800 maps and focuses on rare 18th and 19th century North and South American cartographic history materials. Historic maps of the World, Europe, Asia and Africa are also represented.
The Emergence of Advertising in America: 1850 - 1920 Over 9,000 images relating to the early history of advertising in the United States. The materials, drawn from the Rare Book, Manuscript, and Special Collections Library at Duke University, provide a significant and informative perspective on the early evolution of this most ubiquitous feature of modern American business and culture. Copyright, Citation, and Reproduction Information
Farber Gravestone Collection contains over 13,500 photographic images documenting the sculpture on more than 9,000 gravestones, most of which were made prior to 1800.
Grove Dictionary of Art Online Articles covering all aspects of the visual arts worldwide from prehistory to the present day. Includes access to100,000 images of painting, sculpture, architecture and the decorative arts from the Bridgeman Art Library, as well as image links to museums, galleries, and art collections around the world. Access to this site is limted to WU students, faculty, and staff.
Historic
Cities This site contains maps, literature, documents, books
and other relevant material concerning the past, present and
future of historic cities and facilitates the location of similar
content on the web.
Joconde A comprehensive database from the French Ministry of Culture of objects in all French museums. The site is in French, but is easily searchable and provides basic catalog information for each object. It is a good place to find color images of drawings and prints.
Metropolitan Museum of Art - Collections About 6,500 objects, highlights from each of the Museum's curatorial departments as well as the entire Department of European Paintings and the entire Department of American Paintings and Sculpture, can be accessed online through this site. It also includes a timeline of art history and images of objects from visiting exhibitions.
MFA Boston - Collections Over 330,000 of the 450,000 objects owned by the Boston Museum of Fine Arts are available for viewing in the online collections database, many of which have images. Basic catalog information as well as provenance history is included. Searches can be conducted using numerous parameters.
Metropolitan Museum of Art - Collections About 6,500 objects, highlights from each of the Museum's curatorial departments as well as the entire Department of European Paintings and the entire Department of American Paintings and Sculpture, can be accessed online through this site. It also includes a timeline of art history and images of objects from visiting exhibitions.
MFA Boston - Collections Over 330,000 of the 450,000 objects owned by the Boston Museum of Fine Arts are available for viewing in the online collections database, many of which have images. Basic catalog information as well as provenance history is included. Searches can be conducted using numerous parameters.
Middle
East Photograph Archive The Middle East Department of the
University of Chicago Library maintains an archive of early
photographs of the Middle East. These photographs have been
scanned and made available on the World Wide Web.
Mitsui Map Collection (Japanese Historical Maps)
contains over 100 rare maps and books from the University of California’s East Asian Library. Most noteworthy in the collection are a range of Japanese city maps which date back 300 years. The online collection will continue to grow in the coming years until it reaches roughly 2,300 items.
New York Public Library Digital Gallery
NYPL Digital Gallery provides access to over 376,000 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, illustrated books, printed ephemera, and more.
New York Public Library Picture Collection Online is a collection of 30,000 digitized, public domain images from books, magazines and newspapers as well as original photographs, prints and postcards, mostly created before 1923. It consists of images of New York City, Costume, Design, American History and other subjects.
OhioLink - Art & Architecture Image Database includes contributions from the University of Cincinnati, Case Western University & the Akron Art Museum
SIRIS Image Gallery
The SIRIS Image Gallery contains a sampling of archival visual records that are part of the Smithsonian Institution Research Information System's main catalog. It includes over 110,000 electronic images from several archival repositories at the Smithsonian. You may browse these images by archival repositories or by their physical forms.
Society of Architectural Historians - Image Exchange is a survey set of digital images of world architecture (prehistory - 1980s).
SPIRO
The online catalog & image database of the Architecture Visual Resources Library University of California, Berkeley
Victoria & Albert Museum - Access to Images
You may search here for over 20,000 works and over 26,000 images from the V&A collections. The database covers a wide range of objects, including ceramics, fashion, furniture, glass, metalwork, paintings, photographs, prints, sculpture, and textiles. Many have been selected from recent publications but we have also included less well known items and objects that cannot be permanently on display.
Virtual Uffizi
This site has 505 files, one for each of the paintings exhibited in the actual Uffizi gallery in Florence, plus approximately 400 images of these files. (The number of paintings exhibited is always changing due to restorations, external exhibitions, damages, new acquisitions, etc). Searches can be conducted by gallery room or by artist, and links to artist biographies are included.
Visual Information Access
VIA is a growing online union catalog documenting the arts, material culture, and social history. VIA contains descriptive records and images representing paintings, sculpture, photography, drawings, prints, architecture, decorative arts, trade cards, rubbings, theater designs, maps and plans. Participating repositories include archives, museums, libraries, and other collections throughout Harvard University. New material is added to VIA daily.
Web Gallery of Art
A virtual museum & searchable database of European painting and sculpture of the Gothic, Renaissance and Baroque periods (1100-1850), currently containing over 15.400 reproductions.
Mitsui Map Collection (Japanese Historical Maps)
contains over 100 rare maps and books from the University of California’s East Asian Library. Most noteworthy in the collection are a range of Japanese city maps which date back 300 years. The online collection will continue to grow in the coming years until it reaches roughly 2,300 items.
New York Public Library Digital Gallery
NYPL Digital Gallery provides access to over 376,000 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, illustrated books, printed ephemera, and more.
New York Public Library Picture Collection Online is a collection of 30,000 digitized, public domain images from books, magazines and newspapers as well as original photographs, prints and postcards, mostly created before 1923. It consists of images of New York City, Costume, Design, American History and other subjects.
OhioLink - Art & Architecture Image Database includes contributions from the University of Cincinnati, Case Western University & the Akron Art Museum
SIRIS Image Gallery
The SIRIS Image Gallery contains a sampling of archival visual records that are part of the Smithsonian Institution Research Information System's main catalog. It includes over 110,000 electronic images from several archival repositories at the Smithsonian. You may browse these images by archival repositories or by their physical forms.
Society of Architectural Historians - Image Exchange is a survey set of digital images of world architecture (prehistory - 1980s).
SPIRO
The online catalog & image database of the Architecture Visual Resources Library University of California, Berkeley
Victoria & Albert Museum - Access to Images
You may search here for over 20,000 works and over 26,000 images from the V&A collections. The database covers a wide range of objects, including ceramics, fashion, furniture, glass, metalwork, paintings, photographs, prints, sculpture, and textiles. Many have been selected from recent publications but we have also included less well known items and objects that cannot be permanently on display.
Virtual Uffizi
This site has 505 files, one for each of the paintings exhibited in the actual Uffizi gallery in Florence, plus approximately 400 images of these files. (The number of paintings exhibited is always changing due to restorations, external exhibitions, damages, new acquisitions, etc). Searches can be conducted by gallery room or by artist, and links to artist biographies are included.
Visual Information Access
VIA is a growing online union catalog documenting the arts, material culture, and social history. VIA contains descriptive records and images representing paintings, sculpture, photography, drawings, prints, architecture, decorative arts, trade cards, rubbings, theater designs, maps and plans. Participating repositories include archives, museums, libraries, and other collections throughout Harvard University. New material is added to VIA daily.
Web Gallery of Art
A virtual museum & searchable database of European painting and sculpture of the Gothic, Renaissance and Baroque periods (1100-1850), currently containing over 15.400 reproductions.
Image search engines
- Alta
Vista image search
Artcyclopedia - the fine art search engine - Google Images
The following sources provide reproductions for publication, for a fee.