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Cataloging & Metadata Librarian
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Using Artstor
Artstor is the first place you should start when looking for images.
- It contains over a million quality images (paintings, drawings, photos, architecture) collected from museums, scholars, libraries, and artists.
- It has advanced tools for viewing, organizing, and manipulating images.
With the Advanced Search you can limit your search by:
- Date Range (for example, 1400-1700)
- Place (Italy, France, etc.)
- Type of Art (paintings or sculptures)
To help you get started, check out:
- Artstor's user guide
- Knowledge Base Help Topics (including pages on printing/downloading images and copyright)
- 3-minute tutorial videos on YouTube
Using Google Image Search
You can find countless images here, but use with caution and respect the owners' copyright (yes, things on the open Web are still under copyright). Go to "search tools" and find images that are labeled for noncommercial use; you can also specify large-sized images if you need a high resolution.
Other Places to Find Images
You can also look at some of the websites listed at the bottom of each topic page. Some include image collections.
http://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection
In February 2017, the Metropolitan Museum of Art flung wide its open-access doors. Now some 375,000 images at this New York institution are available through a Creative Commons Zero license. Limit your search to “Public Domain Artworks” for images you can download and use freely.