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Women's History: Find Images

To explore the achievements and events in women's history

Museum Websites to Find Images

  • The Metropolitan Museum of Art - New York, New York, USA (Images cannot be downloaded; contact museum for copyright permissions).  A search "Women's History" brings up over 1,800 results of work by women artists and artworks of women.
  • The Museum of Modern Art - New York, New York, USA (Images cannot be downloaded; contact museum for copyright permissions).  A search for "Women's History" brings up over 99,000 results of work by women artists and artworks of women.
  • The National Gallery of Art - Washington, D.C., USA.  If you'd like to reproduce or download images from the National Gallery of Art, use the specific link in this guide to get to the Collection of Downloadable Images; these images are open access.  Using the filters on the left hand side, you can create more targeted searches like "women in religion" and "apocalyptic women".
  • Tate - London, England (Images cannot be downloaded; contact museum for copyright permissions).  You can search by Artist, Artwork, Archive Items, and more.  The keyword "feminism" brings up many results in all collections.  Suggestion: search in the "artists" category to find female artists whose work is informed by the women's rights movement and feminist philosophy.
  • Smithsonian Institute - Washington D.C., USA. Open Access collection.

Image Collections from the Library of Congress

Women marching in national suffrage demonstration in Washington, D.C., May 9, 1914.

Women of Protest: Photographs from the Records of the National Woman's Party - From the Library of Congress.  448 digitalized photographs, spanning from 1875-1938.

Help us to win the vote

Women’s Suffrage: Pictures of Suffragists and their Activities - From the Library of Congress. Late 19th century - 1920.

New Britain, Connecticut. Women Welders at the Landers, Frary, and Clark Plant

Rosie Pictures: Select Images Relating to American Women Workers During World War II - From the Library of Congress.

Inez Milholland Boissevain, wearing white cape, seated on white horse at the National American Woman Suffrage Association parade, March 3, 1913

American Women: Resources from the Prints and Photographs Collections, Photojournalism Collections - From the Library of Congress.

The Boston Sunday Herald - ladies want it Feb. 24, 1985 or 1901

American Women: Resources from the Prints & Photographs Collections, Graphic Journalism & Illustration Collections - From the Library of Congress.

The stereograph as educator

American Women: Resources from the Prints & Photographs Collections, Pictures: Business and Art - From the Library of Congress.

Eating chocolate

American Women: Resources from the Prints & Photographs Collections, Advertising & Propaganda - From the Library of Congress.

Image Collections from the Library of Congress

American Women: Resources from the Prints & Photographs Collections

Libraries

  • New York Public Library Digital Collections - New York, New York, USA.  Using the search bar, you can find a plethora of images relating to women's history, feminism, women in the military, etc.  Make sure to check off "search public domain materials" if you want to reuse or modify the image.

Images from the American History (FOF) UC Libraries Database

To check if your image is open access, navigate to the bottom of the record and look for the phrase: "*not open to the public". 

Key Sites of Women's Labor Activism

Sally Ride on the flight deck of the Space Shuttle Challenger

American woman and her political peers

Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton

Women protest the sale of alcohol

Citations and Image Credits

Image Citations (From LoC):

Image Citations (From American History FOF):

UCNJ LibGuides at Union College