The Image Bank

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The Image Bank is a right-managed stock photography and stock footage agency acquired by and now part of Getty Images.

Founded by Laurence Fried and Stanley Kanney it became the pioneer of high quality stock photography. Headquartered in New York until being acquired by Eastman Kodak and Rex Jobe and being moved to Dallas,TX in 1992, it used a franchise model to expand worldwide and became dominant in its field, leader in quality, innovation and entrepeneurialism. Each office housed a collection of 35mm transparencies by many of the world's leading photographers and responded to customer briefs by making a selection of images for consideration. Local management were responsible for operating and marketing those offices and in some cases were successful in positioning The Image Bank as a high quality alternative to commissioned photography in the high end advertising and marketing industries.

Although a pioneer in the digital arena, with an innovative videodisc system in use as early as 1987, The Image Bank failed to anticipate the speed and scale which fully digital picture agencies would bring. Once picture agencies were free from the need for local knowledge and research expertise to service customer requirements, they became highly scalable. While The Image Bank tried to expand into the stock footage arena, Getty recognised the digital opportunity in the stills market and The Image Bank was left floundering. The system of exclusive territorial franchises which had facilitated the rapid worldwide expansion became a millstone for the company, preventing a centralisation of facilities which might otherwise have allowed them to compete in the new environment which Getty had created.

Before being bought by Getty, The Image Bank was owned by Kodak and Rex Jobe.