Databases
- JSTOR This link opens in a new window
This link opens in a new window
An archive of scholarly articles in PDF form. JSTOR is not a current article database, typically from 1 to 5 years behind most recently published journals.
JSTOR ACCESS
To use RISD's full-text subscription to JSTOR, you must go through this link:
You can either enter your library account login, or use the RISD VPN to authenticate yourself as a RISD user. Look for this message on the top of the screen: "Access provided by Rhode Island School of Design". This will indicate that you're in the right place. If you have problems, take a screenshot or grab the URL and email us so we can help you: researchhelp@risd.edu.
Note: In general, any time you use a RISD subscription database, it is best to use the library's links, all found at Databases A-Z. - Academic Search Premier This link opens in a new window
- This link opens in a new window
Multidisciplinary articles covering nearly every area of academic study, most from 1970's to present. - Film & Television Literature Index with Full Text This link opens in a new window
- This link opens in a new window
Articles covering film and television theory, preservation and restoration, writing, production, cinematography, technical aspects, and reviews. - Ask Art This link opens in a new window
- This link opens in a new window
Artists biographies, auction records, financial graphics, magazine ads, and images relating to artists from early 16th-century to present. - Credo Reference This link opens in a new window
- This link opens in a new window
Offers over 1,000 full-text reference books (encyclopedias, dictionaries, handbooks, atlases, thesauri) that cover a broad scope of subject areas. Image types include charts, diagrams, graphs, illustrations, maps, photos.
- Google Arts & CultureDiscover artworks, collections and stories from all around the world in a new way. Explore cultural treasures in extraordinary detail.
- EuropeanaAllows users to explore the digital resources of Europe's museums, libraries, archives and audio-visual collections by exploring images, full-text books, newspapers, letters, diaries, and archival papers. Contributing institutions include the British Library, the Rijksmuseum, and the Louvre, among others.
Image Databases
- ARTstor This link opens in a new window
- This link opens in a new window
Artstor is JSTOR’s cross-disciplinary collection of over 2 million* rights-cleared images from around the world, discoverable alongside JSTOR’s journals, books, and other primary sources on one feature-rich platform. For more information on changes to Artstor/JSTOR, see the Artstor to JSTOR Migration Guide. - Creative Commons Search This link opens in a new windowSearch openly licensed, free-to-use images from across Flickr, Wikimedia Commons, and more. CC Search searches across more than 300 million images from open APIs and the Common Crawl dataset.
- Vogue Archive This link opens in a new window
- 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. - Smithsonian Institution Research Information System This link opens in a new windowOnline catalog of the collections of the Smithsonian museums, archives, and libraries. Search over 17.7 million records of museum objects, archives and library materials including more than 7.8 million online images, audio & videos and blog posts.
Searching Photographs
Here you will find resources that help you find photographs both through online databases and the Picture Collection at RISD.
Online Image Databases
There are many databases which contain images, but here is a short list of helpful databases many of which focus on photographic images.
- The New York Public Library Digital CollectionsThis site is a living database with new materials added every day, featuring prints, photographs, maps, manuscripts, streaming video, and more.
- The Library of Congress: Prints & PhotographsThe Prints and Photographs Online Catalog (PPOC) contains catalog records and digital images representing a rich cross-section of still pictures held by the Prints & Photographs Division and, in some cases, other units of the Library of Congress. The Library of Congress offers broad public access to these materials as a contribution to education and scholarship.
- The Center for Creative PhotographyThis site is an access point for viewing the Center's fine print collection catalog. What you will find here are records and images of a portion of the Center's collection of over 100,000 art objects. This is a work in progress; our ultimate goal is to present a complete, searchable database for the entire fine print collection, with the caveat that images will not accompany every record, due to copyright restrictions.
- International Center for Photography- CollectionsICP's permanent collection contains more than 200,000 prints and related materials that range from the earliest forms of photography to contemporary work. For all rights and reproductions inquiries, please contact collections@icp.org.
- The New York Public Library- Photography CollectionThe Photography Collection was created in 1980, when images culled from other NYPL departments and branches were brought together to form a new division that now comprises approximately 500,000 photographs by 6,000 photographers. The Photography Collection encompasses the broadest range of the medium, including images made for commercial, industrial, and scientific application as well as images for the press and other print media, the vernacular of amateur snapshot photography and original works intended for exhibition and/or the art market.
Google Image Search
Google is an easy way to search for photographs and photographers. There are advanced search features that let you search for specific aspect ratios, restrict the color, specify the image size and much more. Try Google's Advanced Image Search.
Types of usage rights
Understanding rights is helpful if you want to use a photograph you found online. Copyright can be complicated, if you are unsure about the rights of an image ask for help. Google allows you to limit your search by certain rights and licenses.
This info graphic is from the Technology Enhanced Learning Blog, and helps to explain Creative Commons Licenses.
RISD's Picture Collection
Students, faculty, and researchers have access to the Picture Collection which contains almost 500,000 hardcopy images of people, places and things. You may check out up to 200 images at one time. Contact Alecia Underhill with questions.
Periodicals
RISD has many periodicals which focus on Photography. To see a full list of periodicals by subject follow this link. Below you will find a brief list of photography periodicals.