Resources in Art and Architecture on the Web

Makes available free of charge images and digital objects to which the Academy holds the rights to scholars, educators, and the general public. Images may be downloaded and freely used for personal, educational and scholarly, non-commercial purposes. High resolution images are made selectively available on request.

Free library of photographs depicting older people in non-stereotypical ways.

Images of art and architecture from Southeast and South Asia, the Himalayan region and Indonesia. After creating a free account, low-res images suitable for PowerPoint presentations may be downloaded freely for educational purposes.

Images contributed by the Institute for the Study of the Ancient World at New York University, may be used freely with proper citation under Creative Commons license.

Dr. Ann-Marie Koblauch's research slides of the Ancient Greek work. The collection comprises sites that are not frequently published. From Virginia Tech, available through JSTOR. Permission required to publish.

Compiled by librarians at Yale University.

Images taken or collected by art historian Allan T. Kohl. Copyright either belongs to Kohl or is in the public domain. Images may be used freely for teaching purposes. Particularly helpful for ancient and medieval art.

Public domain images now freely downloadable as jpegs for any purpose or zoomable on the site.

Free open access collections, most from educational institutions. Covers a wide range of topics, including art, history, and science. Browse here by type of collection.

More than 25,000 images are freely available for download. Images are public domain or have already been offered for free access on the web. Covers all areas of art.

Collection of digital photographs from many different contributors. Images may be used for free for educational purposes (with credit). For publication, rights may be negotiated with the individual photographer. Also a good site for information about the structures.

Search interface for the collections. Allows works to be compared by color, light, space, and keyword.

Items from the permanent collection, available through JSTOR. Copyrights will vary but many available through Creative Commons license.

Public domain images may be downloaded free of charge without obtaining permission first.

Public domain images may be downloaded free of charge without obtaining permission first.

Includes many public domain images in subject based albums.

Search interface for the collection. Public domain images may be used for non-commercial purposes with a Creative Commons license. Commercial use requires a license.

Digital collection of images relating to California, including architecture, art, historical photographs, etc. from California institutions. May be used freely for educational purposes, obtain permission for publication and other uses.

Wikimedia page with public domain images.

Repository for digital content created by member libraries of the Consortium of Academic and Research Libraries in Illinois. Each collection has its own licensing requirements. Check the record for the image you want to download. Many are free to use.

Collection of images from the University of Pittsburgh which may be used for educational purposes.

Public domain images are freely available in high resolution for both commercial and non-commercial uses. Images still under copyright are available online for study purposes and metadata only may be downloaded.

Images on website may be freely downloaded for educational/personal use. For higher res images, contact site. Fees may apply.

Brown University art gallery with heavy focus on 20th and 21st century art. Images are likely to be under copyright.

Images from the Susan H. Douglas Collection of American campaign memorabilia from 1789 to 1960. May be used freely for "private study, scholarship or research" but permission must be obtained for any other uses.

The CC Search tool automatically filters your search to find Creative Commons licensed resources that you can share, use, and remix. However -- Do not assume that all of the results displayed are under a CC license. Always verify that the work is actually under a CC license by following the link.

American and European art. Most are available online and many are zoomable. Images are freely available for educational and non-commercial uses. Commercial or publication uses must obtain permission.

Includes over 37 million objects with over 12 million digitized media. Rights vary but some are freely available.

Includes images of all types from libraries, archives, museums, historical societies, and other cultural institutions (including the Boston Public Library). Images are free to use, though permission must be obtained from any other copyright owners if the works are not in the public domain.

Architectural photography by Mary Ann Sullivan, Bluffton University. Free to use for educational or personal purposes.

Emphasis on but not limited to early America. Image resources and digitized books, including botanical and zoological illustration, ceramics, and more. Images may be used freely for educational purposes. For other uses, contact the University of Wisconsin Library.

"A growing consortium of American libraries and museums committed to free online access to their collections of pre-modern manuscripts."

Creative Commons stock images of disabled BIPOC people.

"Explore Europe's Cultural Collections." Limiter at left allows one to search for images that can be freely reused.

Consortium of college museums in western Massachusetts. Images may be used freely for educational purposes. Contact individual collections for other uses.

Can be an excellent resource of high quality architectural and sculptural images. Rights vary depending upon the photographer.

Illustrations from public domain books. Freely available.

Berger was a curator of the Museum of Fine Arts in Lausanne who brought back over 100,000 pictures from his world travels. They appear to be freely downloadable for teaching and research.

"The leading source of free stock photos."

Collaboration of Stanford University Libraries and the Bibliothèque nationale de France. Images may be freely used for non-commercial purposes with attribution. Commercial use may be licensed for a fee.

Creative Commons photographs of trans and non-binary models.

Photographs, objects, and other material related to the history of photography. Images must be licensed by filling out a form. Unclear if there is a fee involved.

Commercial site of stock photography. As of March 2014, images will be available for free if used in an open-embed program that gives credit to the source. Not to be confused with the Getty Museum and Institute.

High resolution images of works from the Getty that are in the public domain and may be used freely. Recent additions include Max Hutzel Photographs of Art and Architecture in Italy and 15th through 18th century tapestries.

Includes images, books, and more. Public domain images may be used freely.

Medium resolution images of works in the public domain may be downloaded free of charge. You must contact the Society to obtain high resolution images for publication.

The Google Advanced Image Search form allows you to carry out a much more focused search.

"Features content from over 1200 leading museums and archives who have partnered with the Google Cultural Institute to bring the world's treasures online." Rights will vary by source.

A rather clunky, old school website that can be slow to load, but it often includes plans for well known buildings or buildings by well known architects.

Creative Commons images for activism, created by artists.

Public domain images available for free downloads. Good for plans and architectural drawings of older buildings.

Many images may be freely downloaded. You must check the individual image's rights as listed on the website.

Audubon Society site offering free high resolution images of the prints from this work.

British history through graphic arts, strongest in 18th-20th century materials. Reproduction in academic journals is free but permission must be obtained first.

Collection via JSTOR. Must be contacted to obtain reproduction rights.

Public domain images may be freely downloaded, though resolution may be limited.

Searchable in its entirety or by specific collections. Public domain images may be freely downloaded, though resolution may be limited.

Archive of images from the premiere American popular magazine of the 20th century. Millions of historic photographs from the magazine, most never published. Freely available although site states that images may be subject to copyright. Proceed with caution.

London-based picture library specialising in historical pictures and vintage imagery. Features both free public domain images and copyrighted images for which you must pay. Registration is required.

LACMA now allows the free download without restriction of high resolution images believed to be in the public domain. Free images contain a link that says "Download Image." Images with copyright protection contain the link "Order photography" instead.

More than 480,000 works in the Louvre and the Musée National Eugène Delacroix. Download sizes and image uses are limited.

Provides access to images and records across Yale's cultural heritage collections. Certain public domain images may be used freely. Check individual records.

From the Netherlands Institute in Instanbul. Pertaining mainly to Ottoman architecture of the Balkans, photographed from the 1960s to 1990s. Images may be used freely in publications with proper credit given. Higher resolution images may be obtained by writing to the archive.

Public domain images are freely available for scholarly purposes. Look for the OA icon at the lower left of the image.

Free stock photos to use with credit to photographers.

Images may be used freely for personal and educational purposes (teaching, etc). Fees must be paid for publication.

Artworks and material culture of indigenous peoples worldwide. Many free to use under Creative Commons license.

Over 30,000 images from collections available for free high resolution download, either under Creative Commons license or under no restrictions at all (depends on the image).

Low resolution images may be used without charge for non-commercial use, such as a school paper or website. Larger resolution images must be purchased.

Creative Commons photographs of Black and Brown people.

Over 30,000 works from the Norwegian National Museum available for free download. Contemporary works require permission. Download resolution is decent but not high.

Over one million photos from the National Archives of the Netherlands, covering the years 1865 to 1990, can be viewed online. A subset of 400,000 public domain photos may also be searched.

More than 20,000 images from the museum collections now free for scholarly AND commercial publication.

The complete digitized collections of the Freer and Sackler Galleries and the Freer Study Collection. Images may be used freely for all non-commercial purposes.

The museum in Taiwan has digitized over 70,000 images and are making them freely available. Although there is an English search interface, the records appear to be available only in Chinese.

"The National Portrait Gallery now provides free downloads of a large range of images from its Collection for academic and non-commercial projects through a new web-site facility. Over 53,000 low-resolution images will now be available free of charge to non-commercial users through a standard 'Creative Common' license and over 87,000 high-resolution images will also be available free of charge for academic uses through the Gallery's own licences."

Images may be downloaded and used for educational purposes freely without fees or permissions. Not all material on the site is accessible, however, and the interface makes it difficult to just find the image collections.

"Vintage photographs from the public archives, free of known copyright restrictions." Images come from many institutions and websites.

Searchable collection of almost 900,000 digitized items. Free and open access.

20,000 historical maps in the public domain, digitized in high resolution and available for free download for any purpose.

Collects image resources from across the web. Not all are free to use.

Hand-drawn Creative Commons library of images.

An extensive library of free stock photos, images, and audio.

170,000 photographs taken by the U. S. Farm Security Administration and the Office of War Information from 1935 to 1945. Most but not necessarily all are in the public domain and freely available.

Free service searches the web for public domain image collections. Donations are requested but not required.

More than 47,000 public domain images of religious topics, many from the Kessler Reformation Collection. Freely available for educational and non-commercial uses. A small fee applies for publication.

Thousands of media files that may be downloaded freely. Includes film, audio, still images and 3D models.

3D models produced by the Smithsonian's Human Origins Program. Images may be used freely for educational purposes.

Includes 5000 images of Rhode Island history, including architecture and postcards, which may be freely downloaded.

"Vintage and modern public domain images." Freely available.

Wonderful image collection from the Public Domain Review. Sources are given so that higher resolution images can be located when needed.

Repository of free public domain images.

Links to eclectic collections of free public domain images. The blog is fascinating, too.

"The use of materials displayed on the museum's websites is authorized exclusively for non-commercial purposes...Images can be used for educational, cultural, and scientific purposes." Must obtain permission for publication.

Photographs by architectural historian at University of Virginia. Available by Creative Commons license via JSTOR.

"Basic collection" of over 103,000 records with high resolution scans downloadable under Creative Commons license.

"Rijksmuseum makes its digital collection of 125,000 masterpieces free to all."

Photographs or worldwide architecture by architectural historian at the University of Virginia. Available by Creative Commons license via JSTOR.

Searchable database of over 18,000 items. Downloadable as tiffs and zoomable on screen.

Fascinating blog about historical photographs with fantastic, high resolution images. Selected smaller size images may be downloaded for non-commercial use. Large size tiffs may be purchased for commercial use.

Images may be used freely for non-commercial purposes. Includes works within the broad categories of Art & Design, History & Culture, and Science & Technology.

"The State Hermitage permits the use of the pictures of items from its collections and also the views of its buildings and halls that are published on the website for personal, educational and information purposes." Permission must be obtained for publication.

Public domain images may be downloaded for any use.

Creative Commons images allow for low-resolution download for non-commercial purposes. Higher resolution images must be licensed.

Available from the British Library on Flickr Commons. Includes 40,000 maps, architectural drawings, and more. All are in the public domain and free to use. To search the collection, copy its main tag into the search box and add your specific search terms.

Site dedicated to the Avant-Garde, offering free downloads of films, videos and much more.

Photographic copyright free images, may be freely used.

Historical photograph images on Flickr Commons page are in the public domain and may be freely used.

"Free (do whatever you want) high-resolution photos stock photos. 10 new photos every 10 days."

Freely downloadable for non-commercial purposes.

Freely downloadable as jpegs for non-commercial purposes.

Source for free stock photos across multiple sites.

"Photographs taken by members of the VRA community who are interested in sharing images for educational purposes."

Middle Eastern works from Yale University Collections available through JSTOR. Works are in the public domain.

Images freely available through Creative Commons license.

Freely available images, including such resources as the United States National Archives. Licensing varies according to rights owner.

Approximately 1200 global artworks. Contact collection for rights.

Public domain works available freely in high resolution files. May be used for any application without obtaining permission.

Searches across Yale's collections of art, natural history, books, maps, photos, audio and visual. Many are freely available for educational purposes. See copyright information on website.

Collection of art files available for free download. The site claims all images are in the public domain. Quality will vary.

Includes records for works that include and do not include images. Reproduction information included. Many are in the public domain and may be freely used.

Commercial site based in South Africa. They sell publication rights to African photos, audio files and text produced by African journalists.

Works of art from French museums. Although there is an English version, searches work best in French.

Arts and history picture library, located in London. Commercial vendor. Over 10 million images available.

Stock photography site covering many subject areas. Images must be licensed for a fee but Alamy is often much less expensive than other commercial options.

Formerly known as Landslides. Vendor of aerial photography. Many types of photographs available depicting landscapes, cities, and topics such as suburbs, edge cities and New Urbanism.

Digitized Special Collections material. High res images may be purchased. Must be licensed for reproduction.

High resolution commercial images of art, mainly European and ancient western world.

Photographic archive of archaeological sites. Images and videos for sale.

Commercial vendor of high quality images of worldwide architecture, landscape architecture, public art and design. Royalty-free images available.

Commercial vendor of high quality fine art images from American and European museums.

Handles the rights to many 20th and 21st century artists' works.

Includes photos from the Marburger Index. Site is in German.

Commercial vendor of art images for educational use. They will also work with you to try and track down the availability of specific images.

Commercial vendor of art images also now makes available "cultural footage from around the world" for licensing.

Commercial vendor that works with museums, galleries, collection and artists to provide art images for reproduction purposes. They now have an agreement with the Italian Ministry of Culture to cover all 439 Italian state-owned museums for image licensing.

Charges licensing fees for commercial and publication uses.

Includes manuscripts from around the world. Charges licensing fees for publication and reproduction.

Images of British country houses, gardens, and interiors, along with other architecture. Low resolution, watermarked images may be downloaded, higher resolution images must be purchased.

Image sets available for K-12 and college teaching. Individual images may also be purchased. Art and architecture worldwide covered.

Royalty free images for purchase.

"Images of Architecture and the Built Environment." Vendor of high quality architectural photographs by well-known photographers. Especially good source for 20th century modernism.

Stock photography and footage commercial site. Images must be purchased. Includes royalty-free images.

"The premier source of cultural, historical and fine art images." Commercial site, images must be purchased. Includes interesting images of cultural heritage.

Large database of worldwide architectural images taken by Dr. James Bartholomay Kiracofe, available for licencing.

Search interface to collections. You must contact the museum to inquire about usage rights.

"The Lensmen Collection, licensed to Irish Photo Archive, is a unique collection of almost 3.5 million old Irish photos and historical images and offers a fascinating insight into Irish life over the last six decades." Irish historical images and documents available for licensing.

"Over 250,000 images of London from the collections at London Metropolitan Archives and Guildhall Art Gallery."

London-based picture library specialising in historical pictures and vintage imagery. Features both free public domain images and copyrighted images for which you must pay. Registration is required.

Images may be used freely for educational purposes but must be licensed on a sliding fee scale for publication.

Image database for Portuguese cultural and public institutions. There is an English search interface but it requires Portuguese terms.

Images of French architecture. Site in French.

"inspirational photography to best show the diversity and historical range of places in the National Trust's care." Low resolution images may be downloaded. Higher resolutions must be purchased.

"The NYC Municipal Archives Digital Collections website provides access to more than 1,600,000 items from the Municipal Archives' vast holdings, including photographs, maps, blueprints, motion-pictures and audio recordings." Prints may be purchased. Permission must be obtained and licensing fees paid for publication.

"The Obsidian Collection is a user-friendly, virtual portal for Black culture providing access to images of historical, artistic and cultural significance gathered from Black newspapers, photographers, archives and community groups from around the country. These images are available for licensing and permissions to tell our stories." Note: images are watermarked.

Over 100,000 photographs of British paintings, sculpture, architecture, decorative arts, sketchbooks, and exhibitions. More than 44,000 of the images are available for non-commercial re-use with a Creative Commons license.

Stock photo agency specializing in the entertainment world, including film stills. You must register in order to browse the catalog.

Illustrated talks by architects and related designers available by subscription.

High resolution images can be purchased, fees vary but they are not inexpensive.

Subscription based collection of "high-quality digitized images from the fields of arts, culture, and history." Connects 71 mostly German institutions. Trial subscriptions available.

"Provides free worldwide access to a wealth of scholarly research and documentation related to artworks by Robert Rauschenberg in SFMOMA's permanent collection." Includes downloadable images for educational use. Licensing fees and permissions are needed for publication and reproduction.

500 images from the Morgan Library's collection of Rembrandt etchings. or high resolution images, patrons must contact the Library.

Photography, plans, and drawings of British architecture from the Royal Institute of British Architects. Fees must be paid for use.

Commercial images related to Biblical Archaeology.

Permission must be obtained to reproduce images.

Images from the British Royal Collections. Smaller sizes may be downloaded. Contact the collection for high res images.

High resolution commercial images of art, history and the performing arts, particularly relating to Europe.

Commercial distributor of high quality art and architecture images from a number of vendors. Images may be purchased for teaching or publication. Brown professors may request that images be purchased for the Instructional Image Collection.

Visual Collections of the Science Museum, Media Museum and Railway Museum.

Creative Commons images allow for low-resolution download for non-commercial purposes. Higher resolution images must be licensed.

Subscription database of over 40,000 textiles. One must pay a membership fee to access the collection.

List of artists in the collection. Permission form must be filled out in order to request rights to use images.

Images of works in the collection, including all kinds of material culture and crafts. Downloadable. Contact museum for further licensing and rights information.