Database consisting of more than one million images covering art, architecture and archeology. Collections can be searched as a whole or individually.
Made up of 10 distinct image collections: The Image Gallery; The Art History Survey Collection; The Illustrated Bartsch, The Carnegie Arts of the United States Collection, The Huntington Archive of Asian Art; The Mellon International Dunhuang Archive; The Museum of Modern Art Architecture and Design Collection; Native American Art and Culture, National Anthropological Archives, Smithsonian Institution; and Schlesinger History of Women in America Collection.
Offers access to approximately three million images from over 50 different collections. All images in Image Quest are rights-cleared for non-commercial, educational use including use in reports and projects or on school Web sites, newsletters, newspapers, flyers, and bulletins.
Associated Press Images Collection - Enter your keywords first and then select the "Images" source type facet on the left.
Content in this database is intended for editorial, non-commercial use.
Keep in mind...
Many other databases include images on the topics they cover, particularly encyclopedias and other reference sources such as:
A not‑for‑profit initiative created to provide access to historical and cultural images of the African/Black Diaspora in the US and UK, gathered from content owned by Getty Images.
"View Only" access immediately available. Must "Request Access" for use in specific non‑commercial/educational projects.
"A free photo archive 'for creatives, by creatives. It is a community-based free photo site, and all photos found in the Morguefile archive are free for you to download and re-use in your work, be it commercial or not.
An extensive library of free stock photos, images, and audio, available for free use. All Openverse content is under a Creative Commons license or is in the public domain.
Pixabay provides images that are licensed under CC0 - Public Domain so they are free to be copied, modified, and used in any situation. Includes illustrations.
All photos can be downloaded and used for free
Commercial and non-commercial purposes
No permission needed (though attribution is appreciated!)
What is not permitted 👎
Photos cannot be sold without significant modification.
Compiling photos from Unsplash to replicate a similar or competing service.
Wikimedia Commons is a media file repository making available public domain and freely-licensed educational media content to everyone. A collection of freely usable media files to which anyone can contribute.
"Approximately 4,600 high-resolution, public domain images that represent the most frequently requested works from the Getty Museum's permanent collection."
The collections of the Prints & Photographs Division include photographs, fine and popular prints and drawings, posters, and architectural and engineering drawings. While international in scope, the collections are particularly rich in materials produced in, or documenting the history of, the United States and the lives, interests and achievements of the American people. Whenever possible, the Library provides information about copyright owners and other restrictions. The Library provides such information as a service to aid patrons in determining the appropriate use of an item, but that determination ultimately rests with the patron.
A repository of digital images of the collections of the National Gallery of Art. On this website you can search, browse, share, and download images. More than 32,000 open access digital images up to 3000 pixels each are available free of charge for download and use.
Searching the collection will yield items that are in the public domain as well as items that are under copyright. Artworks in the public domain are the only objects that have a "Download Image" link underneath the image. Currently, there is no way to limit searches specifically to items in the public domain (2/2014).
Thousands of images of works in the Gallery’s collection believed to be in the public domain are available for free download through the Gallery’s website. Under Yale University’s Open Access Policy, anyone may use the Gallery’s open-access material without further application, authorization, or fees due to the Gallery or to Yale.