Research Guides: Theatre: Find Images

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Erin Durham

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Subjects: Dance, English, History, Language, Literacy & Culture, Modern Languages & Linguistics, Music, Theatre

Image Resources

A selection of image resources for theatre and costume research.

ARTstor This link opens in a new window
The ARTstor Digital Library is an online resource that provides more than one million digital images in the arts, architecture, humanities, and sciences with an accessible suite of software tools for teaching and research.
To use the full functionality of the Artstor Digital Library you must be logged in through the library website and have created a personal account.
-The basic/advanced search on the Artstor homepage searches the Artstor Digital Library and Public Collections [we have no institutional collections]
-You do not need a personal account to search but you do need it to save images.
-Your saved images will appear in Personal Collections, you will have to login to retrieve/view your images.
-Images saved for a class or presentation can be shared in Groups. Anybody with a personal account can create a Group (you will see UMBC examples when you click on Groups)
Additional Help

Motley Collection of Theater and Costume Design
The Motley Collection of Theatre and Costume Design is a valuable source of documentation on the history of theatre. It is a rare collection of original materials on the theatre comprising over 5000 items from more than 150 productions in England and the United States. These materials include costume and set designs, sketches, notes, photographs, prop lists, storyboards, and swatches of fabric.
On Stage and Screen: Photograph File of the Billy Rose Theatre Collection
Tens of thousands of photographs of actors and actresses, in character and as themselves, from the 19th century to recent years.
Sweetest Sounds: The Musical Theatre of Richard Rodgers
Over 3,500 images from artifacts that represent productions composed by Richard Rodgers from forty-one shows, from Poor Little Ritz Girl of 1920 to I Remember Mama, 1979. Included are photographs, programs, window cards, advertising ephemera, manuscripts and set designs.
Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences: Production Art Database
This database is a guide to original artwork in the library's collection, including costume design and production design drawings, animation art, storyboards and paintings. This
V & A Fashion
Spanning four centuries, the V&A’s Fashion collection is the largest and most comprehensive collection of dress in the world. Key items in the collection include rare 17th-century gowns, 18th-century ‘mantua’ dresses, 1930s eveningwear, 1960s daywear and post-war couture. Plus a growing number of pieces from 21st-century designers.
Federal Theatre Project, Library of Congress
"This online presentation includes items selected from the Federal Theatre Project Collection at the Library of Congress. The Federal Theatre Project was the largest and most ambitious effort mounted by the Federal Government to organize and produce theater events. It was an effort of the administration of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt to provide work for unemployed professionals in the theater during the Great Depression which followed the stock market crash of October 1929."
Folger Shakespeare Library: Digital Image Collection
The Folger Shakespeare Library in Washington D. C. has a world renowned collection of manuscripts, documents, and images relating to Shakespeare's work. This online collection provides digital images that can be browsed and searched.
Fashion History Timeline
A repository of images cultivated by the Fashion Institute of Technology at SUNY. "The Fashion History Timeline is an open-access source for fashion history knowledge, featuring objects and artworks from over a hundred museums and libraries that span the globe."

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