Image and Video Databases - Art - Professional Practice - Library Guides at University of Denver

Streaming Video

Kanopy This link opens in a new window
Transforming learning through video. Subjects covered include Business/Training, Health, Media/Communications, Sciences, Humanities, Education (K-12). Users can search, browse and see previews of videos.
Kanopy is a mediated resource through which DU faculty, students, and staff may request feature films for purchase, and DU affiliates may view library-licensed films.
Alexander Street Press Videos (multi-search) This link opens in a new window
Access the streaming video content from Alexander Street Press.

Public Access Image Databases

A list of sources for public domain and relatively unrestricted images.

Yale University
National Gallery of Art
- Collections Search
The Getty
- Open Content Program
- Getty Search Gateway
LACMA
- Terms of Use
- Collections Search
Walters Art Museum
- Collections Search
Rijksstudio
A service of the Rijksmuseum, Rijksstudio offers high resolution images (4500x4500px usually) for public domain works via a direct download on the site.
- For ordering TIFFs: https://www.rijksmuseum.nl/en/photoservice
- Rijksstudio search and browse: https://www.rijksmuseum.nl/en/rijksstudio?ii=0&p=0&from=2016-08-02T20%3A37%3A02.4603358Z
NYPL Digital Collections
You can limit your search to public domain images only.
- Explanation of public domain collections: https://www.nypl.org/research/collections/digital-collections/public-domain
- Public domain search results page: http://digitalcollections.nypl.org/search/index?utf8=%E2%9C%93&keywords=&filters%5Brights%5D=pd
Library of Congress Digital Collections
This collection contains a mix of restricted and unrestricted works. However, each subcollection has detailed information regarding usage restrictions. Some material does not have restrictions (for example, drawings from the Lamb Studios Drawings)
- Master list of rights for subcollections: http://www.loc.gov/rr/print/res/rights.html
- Collection search: https://www.loc.gov/collections
Wellcome Images
Historical images are available for free, high-res download and are licensed under CC-BY 4.0 (creative commons attribution-only license). The images must be credited.
- Collections search: https://wellcomeimages.org/
Europeana Art History Collection
Europeana allows you to limit to “Free re-use” images on the search results page.
- Terms and policies: http://www.europeana.eu/portal/en/rights.html
- Search for art history images: http://www.europeana.eu/portal/en/collections/art-history?q
Flickr Commons
This is a collection of material from various cultural heritage institutions, which contribute images of works believed to be in the public domain.
- Flickr Commons rights statement explanation: https://www.flickr.com/commons/usage/
- Commons search page: https://www.flickr.com/commons
Flickr
The main Flickr website also allows you to filter by license. Many images are licensed using creative commons licenses, some of which allow for modifications (like cropping) and commercial use. Appropriate filters would be: Commercial use & mods allowed, No known copyright restrictions, U.S. Government works
- Flickr search: https://www.flickr.com/search/?text=&license=4%2C5%2C9%2C10
OpenGLAM
OpenGLAM is a directory of open access image collections online.
- OpenGLAM directory listing: http://open-collections.okfn.org/items/browse?search=&type=18
Public Domain Review
Public Domain Review is a curated online publication that also links to high-resolution images. The images page allows you to filter by rights. Some of the images come from Wikimedia Commons.
- Public Domain Review Rights labeling explanation: http://publicdomainreview.org/rights-labelling-on-our-site/
- Public Domain Review Images page: http://publicdomainreview.org/collections/?medium=image

Finding Image Rich Books

To find books rich with images, add the words "pictorial works" (in quotation marks) to your keyword search in the library catalog:

horses "pictorial works"

Image Databases

Artstor This link opens in a new window
A nonprofit resource that provides over 1.6 million digital images in the arts, architecture, humanities, and sciences with an accessible suite of software tools for teaching and research.
AP Images This link opens in a new window
Contains photographs, audio sound bites, graphics, and text spanning over 160 years of history.
AskART Academic This link opens in a new window
Offers extensive biographical information about American artists as well as book and periodical references, along with International artists' auction records and images. Museums and dealers are also referenced. Access to information about the artists’ biographies, auction records, financial graphics, magazine ads pre-1998, and images.
Bloomsbury Fashion Central This link opens in a new window
Provides integrated text and image content on world dress and fashion throughout history.
Britannica Image Quest This link opens in a new window
Access more than two million rights-cleared images from over 50 of the best collections in the world.
Picture Post Historical Archive This link opens in a new window
The Picture Post’s liberal, anti-Fascist, populist editorial stance, coupled with candid 35mm photography by a stable of talented photographers, was a runaway success from its first issue. Circulation reached 1.7m within six months and readership was estimated at 80% of the British population during the war years.
Vogue Archive This link opens in a new window
A complete searchable archive of American Vogue, from the first issue in 1892 to the current month, reproduced in high-resolution color page images.

Flickr: The Commons
"The key goals of The Commons on Flickr are to firstly show you hidden treasures in the world's public photography archives, and secondly to show how your input and knowledge can help make these collections even richer."

Use the "Search The Commons" search box to limit your search to results from participating institutions.
LIFE photo archive hosted by Google
Search millions of photographs from the LIFE photo archive, stretching from the 1750s to today.
Google Images
A wide array of images from across the disciplines, but quality can be uneven and may not include attribution of original source. If you plan to post images found via Google on the Web or use them in a publication, ensure you have permissions from the original source.
DU School of Art and Art History Visual Media Center News
The Visual Media Center in the School of Art and Art History at the University of Denver creates images for faculty and students at the University. The VMC News Blog will also provide access to images available on the internet from a variety of sources.

Reverse Search Engines

Searching by image to find that image online:

TinEye (http://labs.tineye.com) - Click on Search. Upload, paste, or provide URL to do a reverse image search.

Google Images (http://images.google.com/imghp?hl=en&tab=wi) - Click on the camera icon to do a reverse image search. Paste URL or upload image.

University of Denver

University Libraries

Research Guides

Art - Professional Practice: Image and Video Databases

Streaming Video

Public Access Image Databases

Finding Image Rich Books

Image Databases

Reverse Search Engines