The archive can either be searched in its entirety or by limiting the search to "Contemporary", "Historical" or "Performing Arts." We suggest searching the "Entire Archive" whenever possible to be sure you have access to the maximum number of possible images.

You may search in either Basic or Advanced mode.

Basic mode, simply type a word or phrase in the search window and click the search button. You do not need to type "and" or "+" between words. The images that correspond to your search will then be displayed. You may narrow your search by entering another word; clicking the "In results" button and clicking the search button.

Advanced Search allows you to further refine how you search the database by creating elaborate search criteria.

Wildcard characters
When you search, you can use the operators (*) and (?) to search for partial words. The question mark (?) can be replaced by any character. The star (*) can be replaced with any or no characters.

'c?r' matches car
'f*' matches food, fast, furious, etc.
'*plane' matches plane, airplane, etc.

Not sure of the spelling?
Our database uses special kind of search called 'fuzzy' search. This allows you to find a word even if you are not sure of the spelling. You can use the fuzziness operator directly when you type a search. Use two percentage signs (%%) immediately after each other near the part of the word you suspect is misspelled. This is particularly handy where there may be alternate spellings for name or word.

'eli%%sabeth' matches 'elisabeth' and 'elizabeth'
'maria%%h' matches 'maria' and 'mariah'

You may search for an image by its number, simply enter the number in the search box and click the search button.

Searching a database can at times be tricky and challenging. Call us at 1-800-475-8801 if you'd like some help.