Research Guides: Art Research Guide: Image Resources

UH Museum Consortium images on Flickr

Images of public art on UHM campus.

General Image Resources

For resources by subject, scroll down this page.

For free images suitable for publication, List by College Art Association is helpful.

JSTOR Images
Oxford Art Online (UHM users only) Oxford Art Online is an innovative new gateway that offers users the ability to access and search the vast content of Grove Art Online and Oxford art reference in one location. Searchable resources include: Grove Art Online, The Oxford Companion to Western Art, Encyclopedia of Aesthetics, The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Art Terms.
DPLA (Digital Public Library of America) DPLA is a portal that brings together America’s libraries, archives, and museums. You can cross search collections in different institutions, and the result will take you to the original collection's website. The content provided includes maps, timeline, images, moving images, sounds, and manuscripts with copyright information.
Library of Congress Digital Collections Historical documents, photographs, sound recordings, moving pictures, books, pamphlets, maps, and other resources from the Library of Congress.
Timeline of Art History An academic website that offers artwork images and thematic essays for the collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. It allows you to browse and search by works of art, geography, timeline and essays.
World Digital Library A collaborative project of the Library of Congress and UNESCO. It offers high-resolution images of manuscripts, maps, rare books prints, photographs worldwide.
Europeana Europe's digital library, archive and museum. It provides over 20 million books, paintings, films, recordings, photographs and archival records in 29 languages. Over 2,200 partner organizations include the British Library in London, the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam and the Louvre in Paris. It opened up its content for free re-use (public domain) in Sep. 2012.
Trove (National Library of Australia) Books, images, historic newspapers, maps, music, archives and more from Australian libraries' collections
Asia Art Archive - The Collection Online Though no download is enabled, the Asia Art Archive in Hong Kong is uploading its significant digital collections on an ongoing basis. Included are images, correspondences, artists’ personal documents, and streaming audio and video of performance art, artist talks, lectures, and other art events.
The Commons on Flickr The Commons is a collection of photographic images from archives worldwide, including the Smithsonian Institution, Getty Institute, the National Archives UK, National Library NZ, provided on Flickr.
Wikimedia Commons Wikimedia Commons is a media file repository making available public domain and freely-licensed educational media content (images, sound and video clips) to everyone.
Collections Search Center (Smithsonian Institution) Search nearly 8 million catalog records of images, video and sound files, electronic journals and other resources from the Smithsonian's museums, archives & libraries. Images are categorized under 3 categories: art & design, history & culture, and science & technology.
NYPL Digital Gallery (New York Public Library) Free and open access to over 700,000 images digitized from the The New York Public Library's vast collections, including illuminated manuscripts, historical maps, vintage posters, rare prints, photographs and more.
Artcyclopedia A fully searchable index of artists and art movements that provide links to images of the artists' works on museum and other websites.
Artsy
Art Project by Google Explore some major art museums around the world with the "street view" as well as the incredible zoom-in feature for artworks. It does not allow you to download images due to the copyright, but you can explore world's masterpieces (mainly Western art), save detail views under your account, and share with other people.
Public Domain Review Public domain images, films and audio that can be downloaded and used for any purposes. Subjects range from art, science/anatomy, map, landscapes to people from the 14th century.
Digital Collections - University of Hawaii at Manoa Library

Open Access (or Public Domain) images

** Note: many major search engines and databases (Google, Flickr, Europeana, etc.) provide search filters that limit your search to freely licensed images.

The Public Domain Review
Digital Public Library of America Collections
NYPL Public Domain Collections
The Getty Open Content Program
The Flickr Commons (mostly "No Known Copyright")
Wikimedia Commons A list of freely licensed media resources by Wikimedia Commons
Wikipedia Lists of public domain image resources by Wikipedia

Advertising

Ad*Access Digital collection from Duke University of 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.
The Advertising Archives A searchable collection of print and TV advertisements, magazine covers, cinema posters, comics, postcards, cigarette cards, and more.
The Emergence of Advertising in America: 1850-1920 Digital collection from Duke University of over 9,000 images, with database information, relating to the early history of advertising in the United States.
History of Advertising Trust An archive of UK advertising history. Includes every entry from the British Television Advertising Awards from 1977 to the present are available online (Arrows Archive).
New York Public Library Digital Gallery Free and open access to over 700,000 images digitized from the The New York Public Library's vast collections, including images related to advertising: American Popular Song Sheet Covers, 1890-1922, Turn of the Century Posters, and Art from the George Arents Collection on Tobacco.

Asia

Japanese Visual Resources at UH
The UHM Japan Collection provides nearly 2,000 freely accessible images on Japan.

Ceramics

Japanese Ceramic Database Designed for researchers, multiple views are available for a ceramic work. High quality images can be downloaded free for educational uses.

Design

Subtle Patterns A free resource for textured patterns, all available under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike (CC BY-SA 3.0) license.
Freepik Provides resources for graphic and web design such as icons and stock photos. Attribution “Designed by Freepik” is required for content made by freepik.
Google Material Icons A library of downloadable system icons, created based on Google’s design principles, released under Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 license (CC BY 2.0).
The Pattern Library Compilation of patterns by designers. The patterns can be “used freely in your designs“.

Film

See also: Moving Image (Video) Resources

CineFiles A project by UC Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive. It contains scanned images of reviews, press kits, festival and showcase program notes, newspaper articles, and other documents covering world cinema.

Hawaii

University of Hawaii at Manoa Library Digital Collections Provides many digital images from collections such as Hawaiian Photo Albums and Margo Duggan Collection: Slides of Micronesia and Hawaiʻi, 1949-1954. When using these images, make sure to comply with Usage Right Agreement: http://libweb.hawaii.edu/digicoll/usagerights.html
British Museum - Pacific Collection British Museum has one of the largest Pacific collections in the world.
Digital Pacific This site is a key part of the Pacific Virtual Museum pilot project, funded by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade in Australia, and implemented by the National Library of New Zealand, Te Puna Mātauranga in collaboration with the National Library of Australia.
Hawaii State Archives Photograph Collection Historical photographs of Hawaiian people, places, and events. Since the Archives do not own copyright for these images, use them on your own responsibility.
The Hawai'i Nisei Story Made with the collaboration with Hawaii nisei veterans, the website provides images of Americans of Japanese ancestry during World War II.
Densho Visual histories that document the Japanese American experience from immigration in the early 1900s through redress in the 1980s with a strong focus on the World War II mass incarceration. The archive consists of video interviews, photos, documents, and newspapers.
Ulukau - Ed Greevy Photograph Collection Part of Ulukau - The Hawaiian Electronic Library. Documentary photographs of Hawaiian people's struggles, such as protests and evictions.
Hawaiian Voyaging Traditions Various photos, drawings, and maps from traditional voyages. Polynesian Voyaging Society Archives (http://hookele.org/) also provides images from voyages from 1976 to 2000.
David Rumsey Map Collection The collection includes a number of old maps of Hawaiian Islands, illustrations of people and landscape, and other documents.
Hawaii's Historic Properties Information of residential, non-residential, and archaeological sites in Hawaii. Some properties are presented with images.
Kamehameha Schools Archives The collections document life in Hawaii and at Kamehameha Schools during the 19th and 20th centuries. Make sure to cite Kamehameha Schools Archives when using these images.

Illustrations

New York Public Library Digital Gallery Free and open access to over 700,000 images digitized from the The New York Public Library's vast collections, including images related to advertising: American Popular Song Sheet Covers, 1890-1922, Turn of the Century Posters, and Art from the George Arents Collection on Tobacco.
Illustration Index (printed book) Located in Hamilton Reference, click on title for call number.Indexes roughly ten highly illustrated magazines--American Heritage, Life, National Geographic, Natural History, Smithsonian, Sports Illustrated, Travel and Leisure, etc.
more...less...
Printed index. Use in library. Click on the title to see the library catalog record with the call number.
Index to Illustrations (printed book) Located in Hamilton Reference, click on title for call number.Indexes the illustrations in 28 books and runs of magazines covering the early 1950s to early 1960s. Includes American Heritage, Current Biography, Holiday, National Geographic magazine, Saturday Evening Post, and Travel magazine.
more...less...
Printed book. Use in library. Click on the title to see the library catalog record with the call number.

Logos

A selection of books with logos can be found in the Hamilton Reference section listed below. You may also find books of logos in the main collection under the general call number NC1002 .L63.

LogoLounge Master Library. Volume 1, 3,000 Initial & Crest Logos (printed book) Located in Hamilton Reference, click on title for call number.
more...less...
Printed book. Use in library. Click on the title to see the library catalog record with the call number.
Logo Mondo (printed book) Located in Hamilton Reference, click on title for call number.
more...less...
Printed book. Use in library. Click on the title to see the library catalog record with the call number.
Bullet-Proof Logos (printed book) Located in Hamilton Reference, click on title for call number.
more...less...
Printed book. Use in library. Click on the title to see the library catalog record with the call number.
The Ultimate Logo Collection (printed book) Located in Hamilton Reference, click on title for call number.
more...less...
Printed book. Use in library. Click on the title to see the library catalog record with the call number.
The Big Book of Logos (printed book) Located in Hamilton Reference, click on title for call number.
more...less...
Printed book. Use in library. Click on the title to see the library catalog record with the call number.
Logos of America'sFastest Growing Corporations (printed book) Located in Hamilton Reference, click on title for call number.
more...less...
Printed book. Use in library. Click on the title to see the library catalog record with the call number.

Painting

JSTOR Images
Europeana Europe's digital library, archive and museum. It provides over 20 million books, paintings, films, recordings, photographs and archival records in 29 languages. Over 2,200 partner organizations include the British Library in London, the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam and the Louvre in Paris. It opened up its content for free re-use (public domain) in Sep. 2012.
Web Gallery of Art A searchable image gallery of European painting and sculpture of the Romanesque, Gothic, Renaissance, Baroque, Neoclassicism, Romanticism periods (1000-1850).
Wikipaintings An online repository of Western fine art that is under public domain (70 years since authors' death according to U.S. Copyright Law).
Artsy A large database that focuses on contemporary art in addition to iconic art history images. 25,000 high-resolution images have a “Download Image” button that allows free download for educational use.
Artasiamerica A digital archive of Asian/Asian American contemporary artists and visual culture in the U.S. from 1945 to the present. It contains not only artwork images but also various documents such as artist's statements, press releases, and exhibition materials.
Olga's Gallery - Online Art Museum An educational site with images of Western painting freely available for the Fair Use. Although not all images are high quality, it contains more than 10,000 paintings.
Sistine Chapel 3D View High quality Sistine Chapel views that you can explore in a virtual reality setting. The zoom-in feature allows you to look at Michelangelo's Last Judgment and the ceiling frescoes very closely. (Courtesy of Villanova University of Pennsylvania for its contribution)
World Painting Index (printed book) Located in Hamilton Reference, click on title for call number. Indexes the paintings in over a thousand books. Arranged by painter.
more...less...
Printed index. Use in library. Click on the title to see the library catalog record with the call number.
Index to Reproductions of American Paintings Appearing in More than 400 Books Mostly Published Since 1960 (printed book) Located in Hamilton Reference, click on title for call number.
more...less...
Printed index. Use in library. Click on the title to see the library catalog record with the call number.

Photography

Photographers’ Identities Catalog A visualized collection of biographical data describing photographers, studios, manufacturers, and others involved in the production of photographic images, a growing resource for the historian, student, genealogist, or any lover of photography's history.
Library of Congress Prints & Photographs Online Catalog Include photographs, fine and popular prints and drawings, posters, and architectural and engineering drawings. While international in scope, the collections are particularly rich in materials produced in, or documenting the history of, the United States and the lives, interests and achievements of the American people.
Library of Congress Digital Collections Historical documents, photographs, sound recordings, moving pictures, books, pamphlets, maps, and other resources from the Library of Congress.
National Archives (NARA) In order to find images only, use Advanced Search and change "in the body" to "in image alt text" in the drop-down menu, then enter keywords.
Getty Museum Collection - Photographs Digitized photographs from 19th century to contemporary can be downloaded under the fair use conditions.
NYPL Digital Gallery (New York Public Library) Free and open access to over 700,000 images digitized from the The New York Public Library's vast collections, including illuminated manuscripts, historical maps, vintage posters, rare prints, photographs and more.
The New York Public Library Picture Collection The Picture Collection Online presents more than 30,000 digitized images from books, magazines and newspapers as well as original photographs, prints and postcards, mostly created before 1923.
International Center of Photography (ICP) e-museum The collection spans the history of the photographic medium, from daguerreotypes to gelatin silver and digital chromogenic prints. Over 20,000 records are currently online.
Wikimedia Commons Wikimedia Commons is a media file repository making available public domain and freely-licensed educational media content (images, sound and video clips) to everyone.
Sepia Town A collection of historical photographs around the world that individuals and institutions can freely upload (they are asked if the images is cleared with copyright when uploading).
LIFE photo archive Join work by LIFE and Google; the images stretch from the 1750s to today. Most were never published.
Photographic Portraits of American Artists A collection of 4,700 photographic portraits of artists from from 1906 to 1975 in the Smithsonian American Art Museum. These images capture some of the most well-known artists of the twentieth century.
Eastman Museum George Eastman is the pioneer of popular photography and motion picture film. The institution is also a longtime leader in film preservation and photographic conservation.
Printed Dictionaries, Directories, Encyclopedias and Guides (printed books) Lists of photography-related reference books at the UHM Hamilton Library

Prints

Graphics Atlas A print identification and characterization resource. The "Compare" tool enables you to view various prints with different lighting techniques and magnifications. The "Identification" tool gives detailed descriptions of prints from intaglio to digital prints.
Japanese Woodblock Print Search You can upload an image and search for similar prints across multiple collections of prints. It can also be used as a tool for comparing different versions of the same ukiyo-e print.

Science & Technology

Collections Search Center (Smithsonian Institution) Search nearly 8 million catalog records of images, video and sound files, electronic journals and other resources from the Smithsonian's museums, archives & libraries. Images are categorized under 3 categories: art & design, history & culture, and science & technology.
Medical Heritage Library (MHL) Provided through the Internet Archive, this is a digital curation collaborative among some of the world’s leading medical libraries, promotes free and open access to quality historical resources in medicine.
Biodiversity Heritage Library A consortium of natural history and botanical libraries that cooperate to digitize and make accessible the legacy literature of biodiversity held in their collections.
ARS Image Gallery (Agricultural Research Service) Providing complimentary high quality digital photographs available from the Agricultural Research Service, the US Dept. of Agriculture
FWS National Digital Library (US Fish & Wildlife Service) A searchable collection of selected images, historical artifacts, audio clips, publications, and video and that are in the public domain. When using images, give credit to the photographer or creator and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (e.g. Credit: John Doe/USFWS).
Microscopy Education Web Site Dennis Kunkel Microscopy, Inc.'s Education Web Site provides over 4,200 micrographs of scientific, biological and medical subjects photographed with light and electron microscopes. Images are copyrighted, and written permission is required to use their images.
NASA Images NASA provides high quality images, video, audio, and data files used for the rendition of 3-dimensional models. They are free for educational or informational purposes.
GRIN (Great Images In NASA) Focusing on historical images by NASA, the photo library includes: aircraft structures/design/models, wind tunnel tests, astronaut training, robotic planetary exploration.

Tourism

Photo Everywhere Free images under creative common license.
Travel Film Archive A collection of travelogues and educational and industrial films that show the world the way it was between 1900 and 1970.