1. Check the license
Determine whether the image use falls under Fair Use, the public domain, Creative Commons or another creator specified license. Remember creators may have specific guidelines for using their work, so be sure to follow those rules or exceptions. This information can often be found under a "Guidelines for Use" or similar section.
2. Give credit
If the license requires giving credit to the creator, be sure to do so. Even if not required, it's a good idea to give credit by properly citing the work -- this can help your audience follow the trail to the creator to investigate their credentials or find additional works.
In addition to giving attribution credit required for Creative Commons or other licensed images, you may want - or need - to cite the image using a citation style such as APA, MLA, or Chicago. If you use an image from an article, website, or institution such as a museum or archive, citation is often the best way to attribute credit.
Different citation styles will explain their own rules, but generally images citations should include:
A painting, sculpture, or photograph via Purdue OWL - Use for all images
Provide the artist's name, the title of the artwork in italics, and the date of composition. Finally, provide the name of the institution that houses the artwork followed by the location of the institution (if the location is not listed in the name of the institution, e.g. The Art Institute of Chicago).
Goya, Francisco. The Family of Charles IV. 1800, Museo del Prado, Madrid.
If the medium and/or materials (e.g., oil on canvas) are important to the reference, you can include this information at the end of the entry. However, it is not required.
For photographic reproductions of artwork (e.g. images of artwork in a book), treat the book or website as a container. Remember that for a second container, the title is listed first, before the contributors. Cite the bibliographic information as above followed by the information for the source in which the photograph appears, including page or reference numbers (plate, figure, etc.).
Goya, Francisco. The Family of Charles IV. 1800, Museo del Prado, Madrid. Gardener's Art Through the Ages, 10th ed., by Richard G. Tansey and Fred S. Kleiner, Harcourt Brace, p. 939.
If you viewed the artwork on the museum's website, treat the name of the website as the container and include the website's publisher and the URL at the end of the citation. Omit publisher information if it is the same as the name of the website. Note the period after the date below, rather than the comma: this is because the date refers to the painting's original creation, rather than to its publication on the website. Thus, MLA format considers it an "optional element."
Goya, Francisco. The Family of Charles IV. 1800. Museo del Prado, museodelprado.es/en/the-collection/art-work/the-family-of-carlos-iv/f47898fc-aa1c-48f6-a779-71759e417e74.
Photograph (Not associated with a museum) via Purdue OWL - Use for images found on websites, in articles, in books
Photographer, P. (Year of publication). Title of photograph [Photograph]. Source. URL
Ryan, S. (2019). Sea smoke on Lake Michigan [Photograph]. New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/world/year-in-pictures.html
Artwork in a museum or on a museum website via Purdue OWL - Use for images found on museum websites
Artist, A. (Year of release). Title of artwork [medium]. Name of museum, City, State, Country. URL of museum
Hopper, E. (1942). Nighthawks [Painting]. Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, IL, United States. https://www.artic.edu/artworks/111628/nighthawks
Visual art - via Purdue Owl
This entry can be applied to paintings, sculptures, and all forms of visual art. As usual, these must be cited with title, creator, and date as available, but the nature of these sources requires that you also provide medium, dimensions, and physical location, as follows:
Lastname, Firstname. Title. Date. Medium, height × width × depth (unit conversion). Location.
The Swimming Reindeer. 11th millennium BCE. Mammoth ivory, 20.7 cm × 3 cm × 2.7 cm (8.1 in × 1.2 in × 1.1 in). British Museum, London, England. (use for item in a museum or on museum website)
Frederick, Ivan. The Hooded Man. 2003. Photograph. The Economist, cover, May 8, 2004. (use for image on a website or in an article)
You may find “Dimensions” unfamiliar, but most museums and the like will provide you with the medium and dimensions as part of the display or their website; these are standard attributes by which artwork is catalogued. Note that, when dealing with two-dimensional pieces such as paintings or photographs, you will use only height and width; “height” refers to the vertical dimension when the painting is hung on the wall in its correct orientation. Three-dimensional pieces will also include “depth.” Note that it is encouraged to provide dimensions in both imperial and metric units – use whichever the displaying institution gives, then follow it with a conversion in parentheses.
If images of the piece are available online, you should provide a URL at the end of your citation.
The sites below can help you find images in the public domain, licensed by creative commons, or available for educational purposes through fair use. Creators may have different policies on the use and citation of their works; it is your responsibility to follow these requirements when using images and other media.
The art museums listed below provide online access to photographs, paintings, and other art and art history images. Check the museum policy for the usage rights on images and other sources before using.
The museums listed below provide digital access to images, personal documents and papers, and other archived materials. Check the museum policy for the usage rights on images and other sources before using.