Research Guides: Images: Copyright

Find Images by Usage Rights

Wikimedia Commons
Freely usable image/media files to which anyone can contribute. A highly recommended site for images.

ARTstor
ARTstor is a digital library that contains about a million art, architecture, archeology, and humanities images, with descriptive information. Also contains images from Archvision, a core architecture collection covering important Egyptian, Greek, Roman, Medieval, Renaissance, Baroque, 18th and 19th Century, Islamic and Modern sites, gardens, parks and works of public art.

Digital Public Library of America (DPLA): Open ARTStor
Not a student, faculty or staff member on the Auraria campus? This is an "open" version of ARTStor available to one and all.

gettyimages
Online access to millions of images and short videos. Many, but not all, are free to embed on non-commercial websites, blogs, and social media platforms.

flickr
Photo management and sharing site and the terms of use or a contact name are generally displayed. To easily pinpoint images for use in teaching, presentations, and classwork limit to "Commercial Use & Mods allowed."
Pixabay
Public domain images without any limitation (private and commercial use).
Everystockphoto
A search engine for (mostly) free stock photos.
Web Gallery of Art
A virtual museum and searchable database of European painting and sculpture from 11th to mid-19th centuries. The images are meant for educational and personal purposes. They are optimized for best viewing online but not print reproduction.
Fotosearch
Millions of stock photographs are offered by this company for a fee.
University of Colorado Digital Library (CU DenverL)
Centralized access to locally created digital collections as well as additional resources for teaching, learning, and research. Collections include images, audio, and video files.

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A collaborative project between the University of Colorado System and the 3 Auraria Campuses.
ARC: Art Renewal Center
Images for online viewing only. "One of the largest on-line museums on the internet. A work in progress that features tens of thousands of high quality images of the greatest painters and sculptors in human history."
Heritage Images
A source of cultural, heritage, and fine arts images.
New York Public Library Digital Gallery
The Digital Gallery provides 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.
Smithsonian Institution Research Information System Image Gallery
More the 300,000 electronic images from a number of archival repositories and museums at the Smithsonian. Covers diverse subject areas including women in history, jewelry, postage stamps, and American gardens.
VADS: Visual Arts Data Service: The online resource for visual arts
VADS provides services to the academic community and has built up a considerable portfolio of visual art collections comprising over 100,000 images that are freely available and copyright cleared for use in learning, teaching and research in the UK. VADS offers advice and guidance to the visual arts research, teaching and learning communities on all aspects of digital resource management from funding, through delivery and use, to preservation.
World Images
The California State University IMAGE Project containing approximately 80,000 images. global in coverage and includes all areas of visual imagery. Images may be freely used for non-profit educational purposes.

Legal Basics

Can I Use that Picture? Infographic
GREAT infographic explaining if you can or cannot use a picture.

Using Images: Copyright & Fair Use
From the University of Minnesota, Guide by Ellen Duranceau
Strategies for Fair Use (Purdue OWL)
TinEye Reverse Image Search
Not sure of the provenance of an image? TinEye is a reverse image search engine. Submit an image to TinEye to determine it's origin, how it's being used, if modified versions of the image exist, or to find higher resolution versions. TinEye uses image identification technology.

Google Image Search: Limit by Usage Rights

Google Images
To filter your Google Image search by image rights, click on the "Search Tools" button and then click on "Usage Rights" to choose how to filter your search.