Find images
Finding images
The Library subscribes to many databases, and specific conditions cover the use of images from these databases. Here are a few databases that might be useful:
- ARTstorImages from museums, photo archives, scholars and artists
- Insight image databaseImage collections include: Australian Zooarchaeology; Maps; Posters; Stones; Zoology and various Anatomy collections
- Oxford Art online (Grove art online)Art and artists
- TroveFrom the National Library of Australia. Millions of Australian images, maps, historic newspapers and archives
Images on a website may be free to use, some require a fee to be paid and some apply restrictions on use. Look for 'Conditions of Use', Restrictions or Limits and note them carefully. See our page on Creative Commons licenses explained.
Images can be sources from a variety of websites, including:
- AP ImagesPhotos from Associated press, payment required
- Australian War MemorialPhotographs and art work
- Bridgeman ImagesA curated collection of fine art from museums, galleries and private collections around the world
- FlickrImage hosting website. Take note of the conditions of use for each photograph
- PixabayImages, videos and art work released free of copyrights under Creative Commons CC0
- Unsplash"All photos published on Unsplash can be used for free. You can use them for commercial and noncommercial purposes. You do not need to ask permission from or provide credit to the photographer or Unsplash, although it is appreciated when possible."
Often these are a good place to find free and local online images. Organisations may be city, state or national.
- Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander art - National Gallery of AustraliaExplore art, textiles, cultural artefacts and the Aboriginal Memorial collection
- Museum of Contemporary Art - SydneyContains over 4,000 artworks by living Australian artists with a strong emphasis on work by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artists
- National Portrait Gallery - CanberraBrowse over 3,000 portraits by artist, sitter, medium or date
- National Film and Sound ArchiveAustralian audio-visual material including but not limited to photographs, posters, memorabilia, videos, costumes and audio tapes
- Art Gallery of New South WalesBrowse work by curatorial department, artist or collection highlights
- Art Gallery of South AustraliaSearch over 14,000 pieces of art by collection area, medium, area of origin or date
- National Gallery of VictoriaContains over 30,000 Public Domain images available for download
You may find images freely available on websites of international organisations. Several examples are listed below, you can find more by searching with terms such as organisational type and location, for example 'Ukrainian Art Gallery'.
- Smithsonian Libraries - Image GallerySearch the Smithsonian's 21 research libraries
- Musée du Louvre - ParisExplore over 480,000 pieces of work held by the Musée du Louvre and Musée National Eugène-Delacroix
- Tokyo Museum CollectiveSearch across the collections of 6 Tokyo museums
- Museo Nacional del Prado - MadridIncludes paintings, sculpture and photography
- Zeitz Museum of Contemporary Art AfricaContemporary art from Africa and surrounding areas. Search by artist or country
- The Acropolis Museum - AthensArchaeological findings from the Acropolis of Athens
- Museum of New Zealand Te Papa TongarewaOver 190,000 images online displaying artwork, specimens and cultural artefacts