The Museum of Contemporary Photography From their web site: "Founded by Columbia College Chicago in 1976, the museum collaborates with artists, photographers, communities, and institutions locally, nationally, and internationally. As the leading photography museum in the Midwest, presenting projects and exhibitions and acquiring works that embrace a wide range of contemporary aesthetics and technologies, the museum offers students, educators, research specialists, and general audiences an intimate and comprehensive visual study center." You can preview their current exhibits, browse their special collections which are organized by theme and photographer and search their collection by artist.
The Cincinnati Art Museum: Photography Department has information on eleven works on their web site from Margaret Cameron to Howard Bingham.
The Art Institute of Chicago has an interesting collection of 48 featured photographs from their collection. You can also browse the 5,263 photos they have posted online, searching it by artist and keyword.
The George Eastman House is putting its extensive collection online. (George Eastman started the Kodak Company.) It is organized in departments. You can access images by photographer and there is a sampler of the collection that illustrates the history of photograph.
National Geographic Photography showcases the photos of some of the world's best photographers. You can sign up for Photo of the Day, browse Editors' Picks or photos from National Geographic Magazine. Have fun!
Erwin E. Smith was a cowboy and a photographer. From 1905 until 1912 he captured Texas cowboys working and relaxing as well as the tools of their trade. There are over 750 photographs online - fascinating.
Quotes from Photographers is a great web site. There are quotes from hundreds of photographers and often includes the source - book, magazine, speech, etc. It's a wonderful source for your Great Photographers essay.
VSCOCAM explains an app for iOS and Android phones. But scroll down and you'll see portfolios of work by photographers from around the world posted on a section called "Featured Grids." Photos are haunting, lyrical, gritty, touching - see for yourself. The home page loads slowly.
USA Landscape Photographers of the Year 2014 Winners are here. You can view a thumbnail of the photo and a description of the photo by the photographer. You can also click on the photo to see a larger image.