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Databases, websites, and digital collections to search for images.

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Images

Images are searchable online in various databases, websites, and digital collections. Check the copyright information, terms of use, and provide citations for the images you use. Not all images are searchable on Google and other search engines, so check the websites of museums, libraries, and archives in the countries or regions of your area of study.

Databases

ARTstor
The ARTstor Digital Library provides more than 1.8 million images with tools for teaching and research. Its collections comprise contributions from museums, photographers, libraries, scholars, photo archives, artists, and artists' estates from all over the world. The collections encompass a wide variety of subject areas, including: art, architecture, music, religion, anthropology, literature, world history, American Studies, Asian Studies, Classical Studies, Medieval Studies, Renaissance Studies, and more.

Websites

Artcyclopedia
Internet search engine and image finder.
Carnegie Mellon University Library's List of Digital Image Collections
A LibGuide from Carnegie Mellon University Library. Collections are categorized as follows: Academic Library Collections, Public Library Collections, Museum Collections, Open Access/ Free Images for Academic & Scholarly Use, Stock Photography, Specialized Image Collections by Topic, Curated Lists of Image Collections.
Getty Search Gateway
Search engine of Getty repositories, including collections databases, inventories, library catalogs, and archival finding aids.
Google Art Project
Google has partnered with museums from around the world to allow users to explore museums using Google's "Street view technology." Extreme detail can be viewed for major works of art.
fotoerbe.de
A large collection of digitized photos from German cultural institutions.
Europeana
Includes images from Europe's museums, libraries, archives, and audio-visual collections.
Der Bildbestand der Deutschen Kolonialgesellschaft
Photographs from the former German colonies. A searchable archive.