InfoGuides: Images: Find Images for Classroom Use

IMPORTANT: Using Images for Class Assignments

If you are working on a class project that will be published on a public website (i.e., somewhere other than Blackboard, where anyone online can view the work without a password), the rules for using some of these images change.

The resources listed below are meant for use with class assignments (projects, artworks, papers, presentations) only. If you are making work that will be shared on an openly-accessible site or app (shared on insta, tiktok, tumblr, etc.) and need images, or if you're working on a professional project (something you'll be paid for), see Find Images for Creative, Commercial, or Professional Use.

Image Resources by Topic

ARTstor This link opens in a new window
Contains over a million images documenting artistic traditions across many cultures and time periods. Updated frequently, please check back often for updated searches & collections.
Requires separate login. Use the "Register" link to set up an account with your Mason email.

Artsy
Represents contemporary/practicing artists, with over 50,000 artworks from galleries, museums, and artists' estates.

Oxford Art Online This link opens in a new window
Scholarly art encyclopedia. Includes over 200,000 reference articles on every aspect of the visual arts from prehistory to the present, with selected images, written by over 6,800 scholars. Serves as the access point for Grove Art Online, the Benezit Dictionary of Artists, and other Oxford art reference resources. Tutorial for the Oxford Art Online database.
Berg Fashion Library This link opens in a new window
Provides access to interdisciplinary and integrated text, image, and journal content on world dress and fashion.
Tutorial for the Berg Fashion Library database.

Smithsonian Image Gallery
Includes over 530,000 electronic images from several archival repositories and museums at the Smithsonian.

Anatomy.TV This link opens in a new window
3D computer-generated models of human anatomy that may be manipulated rotating, zooming, and peeling away layers, while viewing accompanying text. For best results, use Google Chrome.
Tutorial for the Anatomy TV database.

Wellcome Images
Historic and contemporary images related to the biomedical sciences, including a clinical collection of photos, X-rays, and MRIs.
New England Journal of Medicine: Images
Images from NEJM publications and research, including clinical photos
NASA: Visible Earth Images
Images and animations of Earth from NASA satellites. Topics include earth sciences, atmospheric and oceanic sciences, solar physics, and human dimensions.

Daily Life through History This link opens in a new window
Supplies primary documents, reference works, monographs, images, maps, illustrations, and time lines depicting activities of daily life across the globe and throughout history. Covered time periods: Ancient (beginning of time to 4th century), Medieval (5th century to 14th century), Modern (15th century to 19th century), and Present (20th century to 21st century).
Tutorial for the Daily Life through History database.

Library of Congress Digital Collections
Written and spoken words, sound recordings, still and moving images, prints, maps, and sheet music that document the American experience.
Getty Open Content
Prints, drawings, photographs, and other images from the Getty's collections.
Digital History: Maps
Links to historic maps from 1400's - 1900's

AD*Access
U.S. and Canadian advertisements from 1911-1955, from the John W. Hartman Center for Sales, Advertising & Marketing History at Duke University
Hoover Institution Political Poster Database
Over 33,000 digitized international political posters

General Image Databases & Websites

These databases and websites include images from historic and contemporary sources, in a broad range of subjects or topics.

AP Images This link opens in a new window
Excellent for images from the news and international issues. A collection of historical and contemporary imagery, with over 50 million prints and negative images.

Wikimedia Commons
Images representing all topics and disciplines, free for use and open to contributions (though with some variances in quality).
Smithsonian Image Gallery
Images from the Smithsonian's collections, including paintings, aircraft, jewelry, and postcards, and covering a range of cultural and national perspectives.
New York Public Library Digital Collections
Images digitized from the New York Public Library's collections, covering everything from historic menus to dance archives and newspaper photos.