Library Databases
These are subscription databases provided by Fleet Library. To use them off-campus, sign into your library account or download the RISD VPN.
Learn more about how to cite and manage images here.
-
ARTstor This link opens in a new windowArtstor 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.
-
Material Order This link opens in a new windowUtilizing and developing standards and best practices, the Material Order consortium provides a community-based approach to the management of design material collections with federated search access among participating institutions. Use this search tool to explore the material collections of the Harvard University Graduate School of Design (GSD), Columbia University, and the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD). As a RISD student, you have access to many of these samples!
-
Materiom This link opens in a new windowThe Materiom platform gathers the world of regenerative material solutions (biomaterials) to optimize and match them to real-world needs. The Materiom community includes material scientists, designers, engineers, data scientists, and sustainability experts. Create an account to access the Materiom materials database.
RISD Picture Collection
The Picture Collection has image folders for Textiles, Spinning Wheels, Mills, Cotton, Silk, Weaving, and Knitting.
Museum collections online
Many museums make their collections available for online searching. These free databases can be incredibly powerful. They often include hi-resolution images from multiple angles, exhibition history, and other details.
It can be hard to identify museums that have the type of objects you're looking for. Always ask your professors and other experts because they may have insights! We recommend searching the collections below. You can browse freely, or perform targeted searches.
