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# In Honor of the Death of Clip Art, a Brief Illustrated History of Clip Art
- URL: https://hyperallergic.com/in-honor-of-the-death-of-clip-art-a-brief-illustrated-history-of-clip-art/
- Published: 2014-12-04T19:58:49.000Z
- Updated: 2025-11-24T16:43:45.000Z
- Description: A major source of raw materials for board room presentations and net art projects is about to go dry: Microsoft announced on Monday that it is discontinuing Clip Art.
- Author: Benjamin Sutton
- Tags: In Brief, Microsoft, #wp, #wp-post, #image-position-hidden, #Import 2025-11-24 07:08 (2014, 2015, part 2)

![(all images via office.microsoft.com)](https://storage.ghost.io/c/51/f8/51f871d8-b6be-4a73-b958-0ca4fff0110a/content/images/hyperallergic-newspack-s3-amazonaws-com/uploads/2014/12/clip-art-smash.jpg)

(all images via office.microsoft.com)

A major source of raw materials for board room presentations and net art projects is about to go dry: Microsoft announced [on Monday](http://blogs.office.com/2014/12/01/clip-art-now-powered-bing-images/?ref=hyperallergic.com) that it is discontinuing Clip Art and replacing the charmingly bland, often inscrutable stock image library that’s long been a fixture of its Office word-processing package with a Bing image search function. On the occasion of its demise, here is a very brief history of Microsoft’s Clip Art illustrated, naturally, with Microsoft Clip Art.

Microsoft first introduced Clip Art with the release of Word 6.0 in 1993.

![clip-art-launch](https://storage.ghost.io/c/51/f8/51f871d8-b6be-4a73-b958-0ca4fff0110a/content/images/hyperallergic-newspack-s3-amazonaws-com/uploads/2014/12/clip-art-launch.jpg)

The inventory of Clip Art was very limited at first, with just 82 illustrations from which to choose.

![clip-art-inventory](https://storage.ghost.io/c/51/f8/51f871d8-b6be-4a73-b958-0ca4fff0110a/content/images/hyperallergic-newspack-s3-amazonaws-com/uploads/2014/12/clip-art-inventory.jpg)

In later versions of Word and Office, the database of Clip Art grew to include over 100,000 illustrations, offering users seemingly limitless options.

![clip-art-options](https://storage.ghost.io/c/51/f8/51f871d8-b6be-4a73-b958-0ca4fff0110a/content/images/hyperallergic-newspack-s3-amazonaws-com/uploads/2014/12/clip-art-options.jpg)

The most recent versions of Office have shifted the collection of Clip Art to an online database searchable through Office.com.

![clip-art-online-shift](https://storage.ghost.io/c/51/f8/51f871d8-b6be-4a73-b958-0ca4fff0110a/content/images/hyperallergic-newspack-s3-amazonaws-com/uploads/2014/12/clip-art-online-shift.png)

But Microsoft has seen usage of Clip Art plummet as search engines and specialized websites have become more popular resources for stock images and illustrations.

![clip-art-lichtenstein](https://storage.ghost.io/c/51/f8/51f871d8-b6be-4a73-b958-0ca4fff0110a/content/images/hyperallergic-newspack-s3-amazonaws-com/uploads/2014/12/clip-art-lichtenstein.jpg)

As a result of this dwindling usage, Microsoft opted to cease producing Clip Art.

![clip-art-closed](https://storage.ghost.io/c/51/f8/51f871d8-b6be-4a73-b958-0ca4fff0110a/content/images/hyperallergic-newspack-s3-amazonaws-com/uploads/2014/12/clip-art-closed.jpg)

Instead, Microsoft Office users will now be able to look for images licensed through Creative Commons using Bing’s image search function.

![clip-art-search](https://storage.ghost.io/c/51/f8/51f871d8-b6be-4a73-b958-0ca4fff0110a/content/images/hyperallergic-newspack-s3-amazonaws-com/uploads/2014/12/clip-art-search.jpg)

*h/t* [*CNN Money*](http://money.cnn.com/2014/12/03/technology/microsoft-clip-art/?ref=hyperallergic.com)