Attributions
Images used across the website come from artists, photographers, archives, and public collections around the world. This page lists the source, creator, and license information for each image. We are grateful for their work and for the institutions that preserve and share it. If we edited or adapted any images, those changes are noted.
Website pages
Arc of People Power
Home page
Culture Contains the Seeds of Resistance
Culture Contains the Seeds of Resistance, Which Blossoms into the Flower of Liberation
Mural by Miranda Bergman and O'Brien Thiele (PLACA); photograph by Zack Bennett-Engler
1984
Edits: Mural created in 1984 by Miranda Bergman and O'Brien Thiele as part of PLACA in Balmy Alley, Mission District, San Francisco, California. Photograph by Zack Bennett-Engler, used with permission.
View original
Photograph used with permission. Mural copyright retained by the artists
Graffiti Street People Culture
Mural of street people and musicians from Nicosia, Cyprus
Photo by dimitrisvetsikas1969
2018
Edits: Photo by Pixabay contributor dimitrisvetsikas1969
Scandinavian rock carvings
Rock carvings (petroglyphs) at Häljesta, Västmanland, Sweden
Photo by Olof Ekström
2003
Edits: Cropped and resized for layout.
People and Context
Home page
Scandinavian rock carvings
Rock carvings (petroglyphs) at Häljesta, Västmanland, Sweden
Photo by Olof Ekström
2003
Edits: Cropped and resized for layout.
Ancient Egyptian mural
Close-up of an ancient Egyptian mural
Photo by Yannick
Edits: Cropped and resized for layout.
Street mural in Coimbatore
Vibrant street mural in Coimbatore, India
Photo by Alex Jaison
Edits: Cropped and resized for layout.
Lisbon apartment mural
Mural 'Tropical Fado' on an apartment building in Lisbon, Portugal
Photo by Efe Ersoy
Edits: Cropped and resized for layout.
Detroit graffiti wall
Graffiti art on a wall in Detroit, United States
Photo by Travis Rupert
Edits: Cropped and resized for layout.
Cityscape
Adolf Hitler
Palace of Justice, Nuremberg (site of the Nuremberg Trials)
Adam Jones, Ph.D.
9 August 2012
Edits: Cropped; removed a foreground figure from the original image.
Andrew Carnegie (U.S. Steel)
Edgar Thomson Works
taken by David Rochberg
Mid-1990s
Apartheid South Africa
Constitutional Court of South Africa
Mihi tr
29 July 2007
Edits: Cropped from the original image.
Benito Mussolini
Palazzo della Civiltà Italiana (Palace of Italian Civilization)
Alberti1492
27 February 2016
Edits: Image cropped from the original.
Bill Gates
Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation
Adbar
31 March 2013
Edits: File resized from the original image.
Boss Tweed / Tammany Hall
Tweed Courthouse
Upstateherd
21 October 2012
Edits: File resized from the original image.
British East India Company
East India Company ships at Deptford
Anonymous
circa 1683
Edits: Image cropped from the original.
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Public domain
British suffragette suppression
From Pentonville Road Looking West, London, Evening
John O'Connor
1884
Edits: Image cropped from the original.
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Public domain
Caste system (India focus)
Benares (Varanasi), 1832–34
William Turner (artist); William Finden (engraver)
1832–1834
Edits: Image resized from the original engraving.
Cecil Rhodes (settler oligarchy)
Bultfontein, Kimberley Diamondfields
Anonymous
1873
Edits: File resized from the original image.
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Public domain
Colombian paramilitaries / elites
Colombia – Medellin
randreu
2 July 2012
Edits: Image cropped from the original.
Donald Trump
Mar-a-Lago, Palm Beach, FL
Christine Davis
26 June 2009
Edits: File resized from the original image.
Dutch VOC (East India Company)
Canal with ships, bridge, and house during renovation
Rijksdienst voor het Cultureel Erfgoed
1869
Edits: Image cropped and color-adjusted from the original.
Elon Musk
Tesla Gigafactory Berlin-Brandenburg
Michael Wolf, Penig
20 September 2021
Edits: Image cropped from the original.
Ferdinand Marcos
Malacañang of the North
David Stanley
26 February 2019
Edits: File resized from the original image.
Fugger Family of Augsburg
Augsburg
Sebastian Münster
between 1544 and 1628
Edits: Image cropped from the original.
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Public domain
Henry Clay Frick (coal/steel)
Alverton Coke Works, State Route 981, Alverton, Westmoreland County, PA
Historic American Engineering Record
Documentation compiled after 1968
Edits: Image cropped from the original.
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Public domain
India’s Emergency (Indira Gandhi)
Front view of Teen Murti House
Unknown
Before the 1950s
Edits: Image cropped and resized from the original.
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Public domain
Indigenous dispossession in the Americas
Fort Laramie
Alfred Jacob Miller
between 1858 and 1860
Edits: Image cropped from the original.
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Public domain
John D. Rockefeller (Standard Oil)
Standard Oil Refinery No. 1 in Cleveland, Ohio
Unknown
1889
Edits: Image cropped and resized from the original.
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Public domain
King Leopold II (Congo Free State)
Norwegian chalet (1906), headquarters of the Congo Free State
Karmakolle
1 April 2016
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Public domain
Mark Zuckerberg
Facebook Clonee data centre
Facebook Clonee data centre from the air by Thomas Nugent
9 January 2019
Medici banking dynasty
The Palazzo Medici-Riccardi, Florence
Rijksmuseum
circa 1875 – circa 1900
View original
Public domain
Narendra Modi
New Parliament House, New Delhi
Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs (GODL-India)
27 May 2023
Ngô Đình Diệm regime
Independence Palace
SP5 Dennis D. Connell
12 March 1969
Edits: Image cropped and lightly color-corrected for clarity.
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Public domain
Plantation slavery and racial caste in the Caribbean and Brazil
Estate Clifton Hill Windmill, St. Croix
Historic American Engineering Record
1992
Edits: Image cropped and resized from the original.
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Public domain
Racial segregation in the U.S. South
Clinton Chapel AME Zion Church
John Foxe
30 July 2021
Silvio Berlusconi
Centro di produzione Mediaset (Mediaset production center)
Antonio Mette
15 March 2017
Edits: Image cropped and lightly color-corrected for clarity.
State and paramilitary land repression (Chiapas)
Palacio de Gobierno de Chiapas en Tuxtla (Government Palace of Chiapas in Tuxtla)
Sarsvices
25 June 2012
Stolen Generations policies
Former Bomaderry Aboriginal Children's Home
Bidgee
11 October 2018
The Inquisition
View of Toledo
Aureliano de Beruete
circa 1907
Edits: Cropped from the original image.
Viktor Orbán
Az újjáépített Karmelita kolostoregyüttes (The rebuilt Carmelite Monastery complex, Office of the Prime Minister of Hungary)
Thaler Tamas
29 January 2019
Vladimir Putin
«Городской пейзаж» (City Landscape)
Aristarkh Lentulov
1918
Edits: Cropped from the original image.
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Public domain
Arc of People Power
British East India Company · India (1600s–1800s)
Gauri Ragini, First Wife of Malkos Raga, Folio from a Ragamala
Unknown Indian artist (Rajasthan/Malwa)
1575–1600
This ragamala miniature is from an indigenous artistic tradition which was shaped by the courts of early modern India.
The chowk and market-place at Kankhal
Sita Ram
1814
This painting depicts everyday social life under Company rule. Shows everyday life at the time.
View of East India House, Leadenhall Street, London
Thomas Malton the Younger
1800
This shows the Company’s London headquarters. This was the institutional base of power directing events in India.
The Sepoy revolt at Meerut
Illustrated London News (engraving)
1857
This engraving marks the outbreak of the 1857 uprising at Meerut. It shows open rebellion.
Execution of mutinous Sepoys on the parade, Peshawur
Unknown artist/engraver
1857
This engraving shows the Company’s executions in Peshawar during the rebellion. The repression takes the form of a public display of violence.
Bharat Mata
Abanindranath Tagore
1905
This painting reflects the rise of cultural resistance in early twentieth-century Bengal. It signals a shift away from Company-era rule.
British suffragette suppression · United Kingdom (1900s–1910s)
From Pentonville Road Looking West, London, Evening
John O’Connor
1884
This painting opens the arc in late nineteenth-century London. It provides the background of ordinary city life.
Piccadilly Circus, London, England
Photochrom print published by Detroit Publishing Co.
c. 1900s
This photochrom print places the arc in turn-of-the-century London. Ordinary civic life continues.
Suffragettes picketing Parliament
Unknown photographer, Home Office records
c. 1908–1913
This photograph shows suffragettes picketing Parliament. They are directly confronting the seat of political power.
Mrs Emmeline Pankhurst arrested outside Buckingham Palace, May 1914
L.N.A. (London News Agency)
1914-05-21
This photograph shows suffrage leader Emmeline Pankhurst arrested outside Buckingham Palace. It signals the state’s willingness to suppress direct protest.
Arrest of a Suffragette, London, Oct. 1913
Bain News Service (via Library of Congress)
October 1913
This photograph shows the arrest of a suffragette in London in 1913. It signals the widening use of public arrest during the campaign.
Women’s Sunday: Women’s Social and Political Union rally, Hyde Park
Edward Lloyd, Limited Photographic Dept.
June 21, 1908
This photograph documents the WSPU rally at Hyde Park in June 1908. It marks a moment of mass mobilization and public visibility.
Cecil Rhodes (settler oligarchy) · Southern Africa (1890s–1980)
Nswatugi Cave, Matobo Hills, Zimbabwe (2006)
Danie van der Merwe
2006
This photograph shows Nswatugi Cave in the Matobo Hills, a sacred landscape with ancient San rock art. It grounds the arc in Indigenous presence and continuity before the history colonial extraction begins.
Bultfontein, Kimberley Diamondfields (1873)
Unknown photographer
1873
This photograph shows the Kimberley diamond fields in 1873. It marks the emergence of the extraction economy that shaped Cecil Rhodes’s rise.
The British South African Company's Pioneers in Mashonaland, 1890
William Barnes Wollen
1890
This painting shows Company-backed settlers and armed forces raising the Union Jack in Mashonaland in 1890. It marks the formal claim of territory under Rhodes’s direction.
Diamond mining, Kimberley, South Africa (c.1890s)
Unknown photographer
c.1890s
This photograph shows African miners working under white supervision in the Kimberley diamond fields. This shows the industrial and racial hierarchy that sustained Rhodes’s power.
Looking for images of resistance in colonial Rhodesia.
Editorial Team
1945–1980
We acknowledge the scarcity of visual records of resistance from colonial Rhodesia. It reflects the uneven documentation of political and labor organizing during that period.
National Heroes Acre, Harare, Zimbabwe (2013)
CT Cooper
2013
This photograph shows National Heroes Acre in Harare. It commemorates those who fought for independence.
Donald Trump · United States (2025–present)
A fantasy in neon, Collins Avenue, Miami Beach, Florida
Colourpicture Publishers, Inc. (Boston, Massachusetts)
c. 1950
This postcard graphic shows a stylized view of Miami Beach, with neon lighting and Art Deco architecture.
Bridges Over the Potomac River – I-395 – Washington, D.C.
Tony Webster
2024
This photograph shows traffic moving across bridges in Washington, D.C.
Jonathan Pollock jumping towards law enforcement during the January 6 insurrection
Washington DC Police bodycam
January 6, 2021
This photograph shows a moment during the January 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol.
DHS Secretary Kristi Noem Travels to El Salvador
U.S. Department of Homeland Security
March 26, 2025
This photograph shows DHS Secretary Kristi Noem during an official visit to a high-security El Salvador prison where Venezuelan migrants had been deported.
ICE Agents in Minneapolis After Shooting
Chad Davis
January 7, 2026
This photograph shows ICE agents in Minneapolis after an ICE agent shot and killed Renée Good.
No Kings III March and Rally, Arlington Memorial to Washington DC
Hillel Steinberg
March 28, 2026
This photograph shows signs protesting Trump at the 'No Kings III' march and rally in Washington, D.C.
Medici banking dynasty · Italy (1400s–1700s)
Pianta della Catena
Francesco Rosselli (attribution)
c. 1470
This panorama of Florence situates the arc in the city’s civic and political landscape. It frames the setting for Medici power.
The old market, Florence
Otto H. Bacher
1881
This painting shows market life in Florence. It situates Medici power within the city’s everyday commercial world.
The Piazza della Signoria in Florence
Giuseppe Zocchi
c. 1744–1757
This painting shows the Piazza della Signoria in Florence. The Medici family wielded power within the city’s civic center and governing institutions.
Saint Nicholas Providing Dowries for Three Poor Girls
Bicci di Lorenzo
c. 1433–35
This painting depicts Saint Nicholas providing dowries for three poor girls. This was a form of charity in a society where marriage required family wealth.
Pazzi conspiracy in 1478 (engraving)
Conrad Ermisch (publication editor/illustrator per Commons record)
Published later; event 1478
This engraving depicts the 1478 Pazzi conspiracy. They attempted to overthrow Medici authority.
The Medici expelled from Florence (Plate 4)
Pietro Santi Bartoli
17th century (engraving)
This engraving depicts the expulsion of the Medici from Florence in 1494. It marks a (temporary) shift from Medici rule to republican governance.
Racial segregation in the U.S. South · United States (1870s–1960s)
Aspects of Negro Life: From Slavery to Reconstruction
Aaron Douglas
1934
This mural panel by Harlem Renaissance artist Aaron Douglas places Jim Crow within the longer history from slavery through Reconstruction.
Guard at company town, Jefferson County, Alabama (1937)
Arthur Rothstein, Farm Security Administration
1937
This photograph shows a guard overlooking a company town in Jefferson County, Alabama. It marks how labor and daily life were organized within a corporate and racial order.
At the bus station in Durham, North Carolina (1940)
Jack Delano, Farm Security Administration
1940
This photograph shows a segregated bus station in Durham, North Carolina, in 1940. It shows how segregation was a part of everyday public life.
Bloody Sunday
Ted Ellis
depicts March 7, 1965 (painted 20th–21st century)
Ted Ellis's painting depicts the March 7, 1965 attack on voting rights marchers at Selma’s Edmund Pettus Bridge. It publicizes a key moment when the state attacked citizens seeking the vote.
Civil Rights March on Washington, D.C. (Wide-angle view along the Reflecting Pool and Washington Monument)
Warren K. Leffler, U.S. News & World Report Magazine Photograph Collection
August 28, 1963
This photograph shows the March on Washington on August 28, 1963. It marks a moment of large-scale, organized resistance in the struggle for civil rights.
Register to Vote – African American 1960s sign
U.S. Information Agency (Record Group 306)
1960s
This photograph shows a sign urging African Americans to register to vote in the 1960s. Voter registration provided political participation after decades of exclusion.
Silvio Berlusconi · Italy (1990s–2010s)
The City Rises
Umberto Boccioni
1910
This painting by Italian Futurist Umberto Boccioni places the arc within Italy’s own artistic and urban modernism. It situates the story in a distinctly Italian visual context.
Naples, Italy. Via Roma (Toledo)
Detroit Publishing Co., via Library of Congress Photochrom Print Collection
c. 1890–1900
This photograph shows Via Roma in Naples at the turn of the twentieth century. It depicts everyday Italian civic life.
Palazzo Montecitorio (Rome, seat of Parliament)
Photograph by user MM
unknown (uploaded to Commons)
This photograph shows Palazzo Montecitorio, the seat of the Italian Parliament. This was the institutional setting of Berlusconi’s political power.
Genova G8
Photographer: Federico Beccari (per Commons page)
2001-07
This photograph shows the 2001 G8 protests in Genoa. Demonstrators confronted the state under Berlusconi’s government.
Genova-G8 2001 – Carica della polizia
Photographer: Ares Ferrari (per Commons page)
2001-07
This photograph shows a police charge against protesters during the 2001 G8 summit in Genoa. It marks the use of force in response to public dissent under Berlusconi’s government.
Se non ora, quando? #1 (Rome women’s protest)
Pietro Izzo (Flickr user perijove)
2011-02-13
This photograph shows a large women’s protest in Rome in February 2011. They opposed Berlusconi’s leadership and personal scandals.
The Inquisition · Spain (12th–19th c.)
View of Toledo
Aureliano de Beruete
circa 1907
This painting by Aureliano de Beruete situates the arc in Toledo through a Spanish artistic perspective. It grounds the story in a domestic visual tradition.
Night Scene from the Inquisition
Francisco Goya
c. early 1800s
This painting by Francisco Goya depicts a scene of inquisitorial punishment. Enforcement was both public and ritualized.
Auto-de-Fe in Plaza Mayor, Madrid
Francisco Rizi
1683
This painting by Francisco Rizi shows an auto-da-fé in Madrid’s Plaza Mayor. Inquisitorial punishment and violence are made into a public spectacle.
Galileo facing the Roman Inquisition
Engraving after Joseph-Nicolas Robert-Fleury
1847 (engraving, depicting 1633 trial)
This engraving shows Galileo before the Roman Inquisition. It captures the pressure on a well-known scientist of the time to submit to church authority.
Scene from an Inquisition
Francisco de Goya
c. 1810–1819
This painting by Goya shows a scene inside an Inquisition tribunal. It shows how the accused were put on public display to pressure them to confess.
Abolition of the Inquisition by the Cortes of Cádiz, 1813
Engraving by Manuel Alegre & Pedro Nolasco Gascó after Antonio Rodríguez
1813
This engraving shows the Cortes of Cádiz abolishing the Inquisition in 1813. It marks the moment when The Inquisition was formally ended.
Vladimir Putin · Russia (2000s–present)
Moscow
Aristarkh Vasilyevich Lentulov
1913
This painting by Aristarkh Lentulov shows Moscow in 1913. Its dynamism and fragmentation sets the scene for what was to follow.
Kosygina Street, Moscow – View toward Khamovniki District, June 2015
A. Savin (FALCON_eyes)
June 2015
This photograph shows Kosygina Street in Moscow in 2015. It captures everyday city life during Putin’s era.
The Lubyanka Building, Headquarters of the FSB, Moscow
A. Savin (FALCON_eyes)
December 2024
This photograph shows the Lubyanka Building in Moscow, headquarters of the FSB. This is the center of Russia’s modern security state.
A man carried away by Russian police during the 2017 protest in Moscow
Evgeny Feldman
June 12, 2017
This photograph shows Russian police detaining a protester during the June 12, 2017 demonstrations in Moscow. The state cracks down on public protest.
Alexei Navalny, Anna Veduta and Ilya Yashin at Moscow rally, June 2013
Evgeniy Isaev
June 12, 2013
This photograph shows Alexei Navalny with fellow activists at a Moscow rally in June 2013. Navalny was a leader of the opposition against Putin's rule.
Flowers at the site of the murder of Boris Nemtsov, Bolshoy Moskvoretsky Bridge, Moscow
A. Savin (FALCON_eyes)
June 2019
This photograph shows flowers left at the site of Boris Nemtsov’s murder on Bolshoy Moskvoretsky Bridge in Moscow. It reflects ongoing public tribute to his life and political work.
Theme images
Theme · textile
Textile
Metropolitan Museum of Art
Textile fragment image used as non-literal woven material texture; object date and provenance not foregrounded in UI.