diff --git a/.env.example b/.env.example
index a5f3443..e7c48f3 100644
--- a/.env.example
+++ b/.env.example
@@ -42,3 +42,10 @@ CACHE_DEFAULT_TTL=300
 # --- Rate limiting ---
 RATE_LIMIT_ENABLED=true
 RATE_LIMIT_PER_MINUTE=120
+
+# --- Artwork storage ---
+# Local disk, shared between the api and worker containers via a volume
+# (see docker-compose.yml) -- the worker downloads here, the api serves it.
+MEDIA_ROOT=./media
+MEDIA_URL_PREFIX=/media
+ARTWORK_DOWNLOAD_MAX_BYTES=15728640
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index a216558..323e0a2 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -103,6 +103,22 @@ curl http://localhost:8000/api/v1/admin/ingest/jobs/<job_id> \
 curl "http://localhost:8000/api/v1/search?q=the%20matrix"
 ```
 
+Ingesting a series also queues its posters/backdrops/profile images for
+local download automatically (only the provider's *primary* image per
+entity, not every alternate) — see the next section.
+
+## Artwork
+
+Images are referenced by their provider CDN URL (TMDb) from the moment
+they're ingested, and cached locally in the background afterward — API
+responses point at the provider until a local copy exists, then switch over
+automatically, with no client-visible change. Cached files live under
+`MEDIA_ROOT` (a Docker volume shared between `api` and `worker`, see
+`docker-compose.yml`) and are served at `MEDIA_URL_PREFIX` (default
+`/media`). See [`docs/architecture.md`](docs/architecture.md#artwork-self-hosting-section-10)
+and [`docs/database.md`](docs/database.md#artwork-storage-self-hosting) for
+how it works and its current single-host-deployment assumption.
+
 ## Tests
 
 ```bash
@@ -170,14 +186,8 @@ See [`docs/database.md#known-limitations`](docs/database.md#known-limitations)
 and [`docs/api.md#known-limitations`](docs/api.md#known-limitations) for the
 current, tracked list (no curated language/country seed data, no fuzzy
 entity matching, no field-level provenance, no pagination beyond search,
-person credits limited to movies). None of these block the Core 0.1
-milestone (section 34): search → movie/person detail works end-to-end.
-
-This repository was built in an environment without Docker or a
-pre-existing PostgreSQL instance; the initial Alembic migration was
-hand-written from the models (not autogenerated against a live database)
-and validated with `alembic history`, but has not yet been executed against
-a running PostgreSQL instance. **Run `docker compose up --build` and confirm
-`alembic upgrade head` succeeds against a genuinely empty database before
-treating the schema as final** — see
-[`docs/database.md#migrations`](docs/database.md#migrations).
+person credits' episode-level guest appearances rolled up to a per-series
+count rather than broken out individually). None of these block the Core
+0.1 milestone (section 34): search → movie/series/person detail works
+end-to-end against real TMDb data, verified on a real PostgreSQL + Redis +
+Docker deployment (not just this repo's own dev machine).
diff --git a/app/core/config.py b/app/core/config.py
index bd2cd2a..61046f6 100644
--- a/app/core/config.py
+++ b/app/core/config.py
@@ -65,6 +65,20 @@ class Settings(BaseSettings):
     RATE_LIMIT_ENABLED: bool = Field(default=True)
     RATE_LIMIT_PER_MINUTE: int = Field(default=120)
 
+    # --- Artwork storage (section 10) ---
+    # Local-disk self-hosting, deliberately simple for 0.1: fine for a
+    # single-host deployment where the api and worker containers share one
+    # volume (see docker-compose.yml). A genuinely multi-host deployment
+    # would need real object storage (S3/R2/...) behind the same
+    # ArtworkStorage interface instead — see app/services/artwork/storage.py.
+    MEDIA_ROOT: str = Field(default="./media")
+    # Root-relative URL path artwork is served under (app/main.py mounts
+    # MEDIA_ROOT there). Kept relative rather than a full domain so it keeps
+    # working whether Aurora is reached via localhost, a Traefik host, or
+    # (once configured) amdbs.net.
+    MEDIA_URL_PREFIX: str = Field(default="/media")
+    ARTWORK_DOWNLOAD_MAX_BYTES: int = Field(default=15 * 1024 * 1024)
+
     @field_validator("AURORA_ENV")
     @classmethod
     def _validate_env(cls, v: str) -> str:
diff --git a/app/main.py b/app/main.py
index a1297f7..b3f17af 100644
--- a/app/main.py
+++ b/app/main.py
@@ -10,11 +10,13 @@ import time
 import uuid
 from collections.abc import Awaitable, Callable
 from contextlib import asynccontextmanager
+from pathlib import Path
 
 from fastapi import FastAPI, Request, Response
 from fastapi.exceptions import RequestValidationError
 from fastapi.middleware.cors import CORSMiddleware
 from fastapi.responses import JSONResponse
+from fastapi.staticfiles import StaticFiles
 from prometheus_client import CONTENT_TYPE_LATEST, Counter, Histogram, generate_latest
 from starlette.exceptions import HTTPException as StarletteHTTPException
 
@@ -78,6 +80,17 @@ app.add_middleware(
     allow_headers=["*"],
 )
 
+# Serves what app/services/artwork/ downloads (section 10: self-hosted
+# artwork). The directory must exist before StaticFiles will mount — the
+# worker creates subdirectories as it writes files, but the root itself
+# needs to be there even before the first download.
+Path(settings.MEDIA_ROOT).mkdir(parents=True, exist_ok=True)
+app.mount(
+    settings.MEDIA_URL_PREFIX,
+    StaticFiles(directory=settings.MEDIA_ROOT),
+    name="media",
+)
+
 
 @app.middleware("http")
 async def request_context_middleware(
diff --git a/app/repositories/polymorphic.py b/app/repositories/polymorphic.py
index a95d5f6..b532cea 100644
--- a/app/repositories/polymorphic.py
+++ b/app/repositories/polymorphic.py
@@ -6,6 +6,8 @@ an (entity_type, entity_id) pair rather than a typed foreign key.
 from __future__ import annotations
 
 import uuid
+from collections.abc import Sequence
+from typing import Protocol
 
 from sqlalchemy import select
 from sqlalchemy.ext.asyncio import AsyncSession
@@ -18,6 +20,24 @@ from app.models.external_id import ExternalID
 from app.models.provider import Provider
 from app.models.video import Video
 
+_VALID_ARTWORK_TYPES = {t.value for t in ArtworkType}
+
+
+class _NormalizedArtworkLike(Protocol):
+    """Structural type for app.services.metadata.normalizer.NormalizedArtwork
+    — a repository shouldn't import from the services layer, so this
+    describes the shape `sync_artwork` needs instead of the concrete class.
+    """
+
+    artwork_type: str
+    url: str
+    provider_asset_id: str | None
+    width: int | None
+    height: int | None
+    aspect_ratio: float | None
+    vote_average: float | None
+    is_primary: bool
+
 
 async def get_external_ids(
     session: AsyncSession, entity_type: str, entity_id: uuid.UUID
@@ -48,6 +68,104 @@ async def get_external_ids_bulk(
     return out
 
 
+async def get_primary_artwork_ids(
+    session: AsyncSession, entity_type: str, entity_ids: list[uuid.UUID]
+) -> list[uuid.UUID]:
+    """IDs of artwork rows marked `is_primary` for any of `entity_ids` — the
+    small subset of a title's images (TMDb's own selected poster/backdrop/
+    profile) that get auto-downloaded for local hosting, out of the dozens
+    of alternates ingestion also stores. See app/services/artwork/."""
+
+    if not entity_ids:
+        return []
+    stmt = select(Artwork.id).where(
+        Artwork.entity_type == entity_type,
+        Artwork.entity_id.in_(entity_ids),
+        Artwork.is_primary.is_(True),
+    )
+    result = await session.execute(stmt)
+    return list(result.scalars().all())
+
+
+async def sync_artwork(
+    session: AsyncSession,
+    *,
+    entity_type: str,
+    entity_id: uuid.UUID,
+    provider_id: uuid.UUID,
+    artwork_list: Sequence[_NormalizedArtworkLike],
+) -> None:
+    """Upsert an entity's artwork rows keyed by `provider_asset_id` (TMDb's
+    stable per-image file path), instead of deleting and recreating them on
+    every re-sync.
+
+    This matters specifically because of `app/services/artwork/` (section
+    10's self-hosting): a delete-then-recreate replace would generate a
+    fresh Artwork.id with `local_path=None` every time a title gets
+    re-ingested, silently throwing away every previously-downloaded local
+    copy and forcing a full re-download on each sync — defeating the point
+    of caching them locally at all. Rows for images no longer present in
+    `artwork_list` (dropped from the provider's alternates) are still
+    deleted, same as before.
+    """
+
+    existing = (
+        (
+            await session.execute(
+                select(Artwork).where(
+                    Artwork.entity_type == entity_type, Artwork.entity_id == entity_id
+                )
+            )
+        )
+        .scalars()
+        .all()
+    )
+    existing_by_asset_id = {
+        row.provider_asset_id: row for row in existing if row.provider_asset_id is not None
+    }
+
+    seen_asset_ids: set[str] = set()
+    for art in artwork_list:
+        art_type = art.artwork_type if art.artwork_type in _VALID_ARTWORK_TYPES else "poster"
+        matched = (
+            existing_by_asset_id.get(art.provider_asset_id) if art.provider_asset_id else None
+        )
+        if matched is not None:
+            seen_asset_ids.add(art.provider_asset_id)  # type: ignore[arg-type]
+            matched.artwork_type = ArtworkType(art_type)
+            matched.width = art.width
+            matched.height = art.height
+            matched.aspect_ratio = art.aspect_ratio
+            matched.vote_average = art.vote_average
+            matched.is_primary = art.is_primary
+            matched.original_url = art.url
+            # local_path/checksum deliberately untouched — see docstring.
+        else:
+            session.add(
+                Artwork(
+                    entity_type=entity_type,
+                    entity_id=entity_id,
+                    artwork_type=ArtworkType(art_type),
+                    width=art.width,
+                    height=art.height,
+                    aspect_ratio=art.aspect_ratio,
+                    provider_id=provider_id,
+                    provider_asset_id=art.provider_asset_id,
+                    original_url=art.url,
+                    vote_average=art.vote_average,
+                    is_primary=art.is_primary,
+                )
+            )
+            if art.provider_asset_id:
+                seen_asset_ids.add(art.provider_asset_id)
+
+    for row in existing:
+        if row.provider_asset_id not in seen_asset_ids:
+            await session.delete(row)
+
+    await session.flush()
+
+
 async def get_artwork(
     session: AsyncSession,
     entity_type: str,
diff --git a/app/services/artwork/__init__.py b/app/services/artwork/__init__.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..e69de29
diff --git a/app/services/artwork/download.py b/app/services/artwork/download.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..874359d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/app/services/artwork/download.py
@@ -0,0 +1,110 @@
+"""Downloads one Artwork row's original_url and stores it locally
+(section 10; the "Artwork processing" background worker from section 1's
+architecture diagram).
+
+Deliberately narrow: only ever called for artwork already marked
+`is_primary` (see `app/services/ingestion/runner.py:get_primary_artwork_ids`
+and `app/workers/tasks.py`, which cascade a download job per primary image
+after each ingestion succeeds) — TMDb returns dozens of backdrop/logo
+alternates per title, and downloading every one of them automatically would
+be a lot of unnecessary storage and bandwidth for images Aurora's own
+clients are unlikely to ever show. Downloading on request for anything
+beyond the primary image is a reasonable follow-up if that's ever needed.
+"""
+
+from __future__ import annotations
+
+import hashlib
+import uuid
+
+import httpx
+from sqlalchemy.ext.asyncio import AsyncSession
+
+from app.core.config import get_settings
+from app.core.logging import get_logger
+from app.models.artwork import Artwork
+from app.services.artwork.storage import ArtworkStorage
+
+logger = get_logger(__name__)
+
+_EXTENSION_BY_CONTENT_TYPE = {
+    "image/jpeg": "jpg",
+    "image/jpg": "jpg",
+    "image/png": "png",
+    "image/webp": "webp",
+    "image/gif": "gif",
+    "image/svg+xml": "svg",
+}
+
+
+class ArtworkDownloadError(Exception):
+    """Raised for any download-side failure (bad content-type, too large,
+    network error, ...). Callers (the arq task) let this propagate so the
+    job gets retried like any other ingestion failure — see
+    app/services/ingestion/runner.py."""
+
+
+async def download_artwork(
+    session: AsyncSession,
+    storage: ArtworkStorage,
+    artwork_id: uuid.UUID,
+    *,
+    client: httpx.AsyncClient | None = None,
+    force: bool = False,
+) -> bool:
+    """Fetch `artwork.original_url`, store it, and set `local_path` +
+    `checksum`. Returns False (no-op) if the row is gone or already has a
+    local copy (unless `force=True`); True if it downloaded something.
+    """
+
+    artwork = await session.get(Artwork, artwork_id)
+    if artwork is None:
+        return False
+    if artwork.local_path and not force:
+        return False
+
+    settings = get_settings()
+    owns_client = client is None
+    http_client = client or httpx.AsyncClient(timeout=20.0, follow_redirects=True)
+    try:
+        content, content_type = await _fetch(http_client, artwork.original_url, settings.ARTWORK_DOWNLOAD_MAX_BYTES)
+    finally:
+        if owns_client:
+            await http_client.aclose()
+
+    checksum = hashlib.sha256(content).hexdigest()
+    extension = _EXTENSION_BY_CONTENT_TYPE.get(content_type, "jpg")
+    relative_path = f"{artwork.artwork_type.value}/{checksum[:2]}/{checksum}.{extension}"
+
+    local_url = await storage.save(relative_path, content)
+
+    artwork.local_path = local_url
+    artwork.checksum = checksum
+    await session.flush()
+    logger.info(
+        "artwork_downloaded",
+        artwork_id=str(artwork_id),
+        checksum=checksum,
+        bytes=len(content),
+    )
+    return True
+
+
+async def _fetch(client: httpx.AsyncClient, url: str, max_bytes: int) -> tuple[bytes, str]:
+    try:
+        async with client.stream("GET", url) as response:
+            response.raise_for_status()
+            content_type = response.headers.get("content-type", "").split(";")[0].strip().lower()
+            if not content_type.startswith("image/"):
+                raise ArtworkDownloadError(f"expected an image, got content-type={content_type!r}")
+
+            body = bytearray()
+            async for chunk in response.aiter_bytes():
+                body.extend(chunk)
+                if len(body) > max_bytes:
+                    raise ArtworkDownloadError(
+                        f"artwork at {url} exceeds ARTWORK_DOWNLOAD_MAX_BYTES ({max_bytes} bytes)"
+                    )
+            return bytes(body), content_type
+    except httpx.HTTPError as exc:
+        raise ArtworkDownloadError(f"failed to download {url}: {exc}") from exc
diff --git a/app/services/artwork/storage.py b/app/services/artwork/storage.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..eef9583
--- /dev/null
+++ b/app/services/artwork/storage.py
@@ -0,0 +1,66 @@
+"""Artwork storage abstraction (section 10).
+
+Downloaded artwork bytes need somewhere to live that both the worker
+(writing) and the API (serving, via app/main.py's static mount) can reach.
+`ArtworkStorage` is the seam: today there's only `LocalDiskStorage` — fine
+for a single Docker host where the api and worker containers share one
+volume (see docker-compose.yml), which is this project's actual deployment
+shape (section 1: modular monolith, not a multi-host fleet). A deployment
+that outgrows a single host would swap in an S3/R2-backed implementation
+behind this same interface without touching the download pipeline that
+calls it (app/services/artwork/download.py).
+"""
+
+from __future__ import annotations
+
+from abc import ABC, abstractmethod
+from functools import lru_cache
+from pathlib import Path
+
+from app.core.config import get_settings
+
+
+class ArtworkStorage(ABC):
+    @abstractmethod
+    async def save(self, relative_path: str, content: bytes) -> str:
+        """Persist `content` at `relative_path` (already includes an
+        extension, e.g. "poster/ab/ab34...jpg"). Returns the root-relative
+        URL clients should use to fetch it."""
+
+    @abstractmethod
+    async def exists(self, relative_path: str) -> bool: ...
+
+
+class LocalDiskStorage(ArtworkStorage):
+    def __init__(self, root: str, url_prefix: str) -> None:
+        self._root = Path(root)
+        self._url_prefix = url_prefix.rstrip("/")
+
+    def _full_path(self, relative_path: str) -> Path:
+        # relative_path is always built by us from a sha256 checksum, never
+        # from unsanitized external input — but guard anyway against ever
+        # writing outside MEDIA_ROOT.
+        root = self._root.resolve()
+        full = (self._root / relative_path).resolve()
+        if full != root and root not in full.parents:
+            raise ValueError(f"unsafe artwork path escapes MEDIA_ROOT: {relative_path!r}")
+        return full
+
+    async def save(self, relative_path: str, content: bytes) -> str:
+        full = self._full_path(relative_path)
+        full.parent.mkdir(parents=True, exist_ok=True)
+        # Blocking I/O, but artwork files are small (capped by
+        # ARTWORK_DOWNLOAD_MAX_BYTES) and this only ever runs inside the
+        # worker process, not a request handler — not worth wiring aiofiles
+        # for.
+        full.write_bytes(content)
+        return f"{self._url_prefix}/{relative_path}"
+
+    async def exists(self, relative_path: str) -> bool:
+        return self._full_path(relative_path).is_file()
+
+
+@lru_cache
+def get_artwork_storage() -> ArtworkStorage:
+    settings = get_settings()
+    return LocalDiskStorage(settings.MEDIA_ROOT, settings.MEDIA_URL_PREFIX)
diff --git a/app/services/ingestion/movie_ingestion.py b/app/services/ingestion/movie_ingestion.py
index 40c1ae1..98f7974 100644
--- a/app/services/ingestion/movie_ingestion.py
+++ b/app/services/ingestion/movie_ingestion.py
@@ -20,15 +20,15 @@ from sqlalchemy import delete
 from sqlalchemy.ext.asyncio import AsyncSession
 
 from app.core.logging import get_logger
-from app.models.artwork import Artwork
 from app.models.company import MovieCompany
 from app.models.credit import Credit
-from app.models.enums import ArtworkType, MatchConfidence, MovieStatus, VideoType
+from app.models.enums import MatchConfidence, MovieStatus, VideoType
 from app.models.genre import MovieGenre
 from app.models.keyword import MovieKeyword
 from app.models.movie import Movie, MovieRecommendation
 from app.models.video import Video
 from app.providers.base import MetadataProvider
+from app.repositories import polymorphic
 from app.repositories import reference_repository as refs
 from app.repositories.provider_repository import get_or_create_provider, upsert_provider_record
 from app.services.metadata.matcher import match_entity
@@ -115,36 +115,9 @@ async def _replace_movie_credits(
         )
 
 
-_ARTWORK_TYPES = {t.value for t in ArtworkType}
 _VIDEO_TYPES = {t.value for t in VideoType}
 
 
-async def _replace_movie_artwork(
-    session: AsyncSession, movie_id: uuid.UUID, provider_id: uuid.UUID, artwork_list
-) -> None:
-    await session.execute(
-        delete(Artwork).where(Artwork.entity_type == "movie", Artwork.entity_id == movie_id)
-    )
-    for art in artwork_list:
-        art_type = art.artwork_type if art.artwork_type in _ARTWORK_TYPES else "poster"
-        session.add(
-            Artwork(
-                entity_type="movie",
-                entity_id=movie_id,
-                artwork_type=ArtworkType(art_type),
-                language_code=None,
-                width=art.width,
-                height=art.height,
-                aspect_ratio=art.aspect_ratio,
-                provider_id=provider_id,
-                provider_asset_id=art.provider_asset_id,
-                original_url=art.url,
-                vote_average=art.vote_average,
-                is_primary=False,
-            )
-        )
-
-
 async def _replace_movie_videos(
     session: AsyncSession, movie_id: uuid.UUID, provider_id: uuid.UUID, videos
 ) -> None:
@@ -259,7 +232,13 @@ async def ingest_movie(
     await _replace_movie_keywords(session, movie.id, normalized.keywords)
     await _replace_movie_companies(session, movie.id, tmdb_provider.id, normalized.companies)
     await _replace_movie_credits(session, movie.id, tmdb_provider.id, normalized.cast, normalized.crew)
-    await _replace_movie_artwork(session, movie.id, tmdb_provider.id, normalized.artwork)
+    await polymorphic.sync_artwork(
+        session,
+        entity_type="movie",
+        entity_id=movie.id,
+        provider_id=tmdb_provider.id,
+        artwork_list=normalized.artwork,
+    )
     await _replace_movie_videos(session, movie.id, tmdb_provider.id, normalized.videos)
     await _link_external_ids(session, movie.id, tmdb_provider.id, normalized)
 
diff --git a/app/services/ingestion/person_ingestion.py b/app/services/ingestion/person_ingestion.py
index 8839fb0..38648ca 100644
--- a/app/services/ingestion/person_ingestion.py
+++ b/app/services/ingestion/person_ingestion.py
@@ -10,14 +10,13 @@ from __future__ import annotations
 
 import uuid
 
-from sqlalchemy import delete
 from sqlalchemy.ext.asyncio import AsyncSession
 
 from app.core.logging import get_logger
-from app.models.artwork import Artwork
-from app.models.enums import ArtworkType, MatchConfidence
+from app.models.enums import MatchConfidence
 from app.models.person import Person
 from app.providers.base import MetadataProvider
+from app.repositories import polymorphic
 from app.repositories import reference_repository as refs
 from app.repositories.provider_repository import get_or_create_provider, upsert_provider_record
 from app.services.metadata.matcher import match_entity
@@ -64,24 +63,13 @@ async def ingest_person(
 
     await session.flush()
 
-    await session.execute(
-        delete(Artwork).where(Artwork.entity_type == "person", Artwork.entity_id == person.id)
+    await polymorphic.sync_artwork(
+        session,
+        entity_type="person",
+        entity_id=person.id,
+        provider_id=tmdb_provider.id,
+        artwork_list=normalized.artwork,
     )
-    for art in normalized.artwork:
-        session.add(
-            Artwork(
-                entity_type="person",
-                entity_id=person.id,
-                artwork_type=ArtworkType.PROFILE,
-                width=art.width,
-                height=art.height,
-                aspect_ratio=art.aspect_ratio,
-                provider_id=tmdb_provider.id,
-                provider_asset_id=art.provider_asset_id,
-                original_url=art.url,
-                vote_average=art.vote_average,
-            )
-        )
 
     await refs.link_external_id(
         session,
diff --git a/app/services/ingestion/runner.py b/app/services/ingestion/runner.py
index f018597..59c203c 100644
--- a/app/services/ingestion/runner.py
+++ b/app/services/ingestion/runner.py
@@ -19,6 +19,7 @@ from app.models.enums import IngestionJobStatus
 from app.models.provider import IngestionJob
 from app.providers.base import MetadataProvider
 from app.providers.tmdb import TMDbProvider
+from app.repositories.polymorphic import get_primary_artwork_ids
 from app.repositories.provider_repository import (
     create_ingestion_job,
     get_ingestion_job,
@@ -165,3 +166,22 @@ async def get_series_season_numbers(series_id: uuid.UUID) -> list[int]:
     async with session_scope() as session:
         seasons = await get_seasons_for_series(session, series_id)
         return [season.season_number for season in seasons]
+
+
+async def get_series_season_ids(series_id: uuid.UUID) -> list[uuid.UUID]:
+    async with session_scope() as session:
+        seasons = await get_seasons_for_series(session, series_id)
+        return [season.id for season in seasons]
+
+
+async def get_primary_artwork_for_download(
+    entity_type: str, entity_ids: list[uuid.UUID]
+) -> list[uuid.UUID]:
+    """Artwork ids worth auto-downloading for local hosting after an
+    ingestion succeeds — see app/services/artwork/download.py and
+    app/workers/tasks.py, which enqueue one download_artwork_task per id
+    this returns. A short-lived session of its own, same reasoning as
+    get_series_season_numbers above."""
+
+    async with session_scope() as session:
+        return await get_primary_artwork_ids(session, entity_type, entity_ids)
diff --git a/app/services/ingestion/series_ingestion.py b/app/services/ingestion/series_ingestion.py
index c05965b..633ad0f 100644
--- a/app/services/ingestion/series_ingestion.py
+++ b/app/services/ingestion/series_ingestion.py
@@ -20,17 +20,16 @@ from sqlalchemy import delete
 from sqlalchemy.ext.asyncio import AsyncSession
 
 from app.core.logging import get_logger
-from app.models.artwork import Artwork
 from app.models.company import SeriesCompany
 from app.models.credit import Credit
-from app.models.enums import ArtworkType, CompanyType, MatchConfidence, SeriesStatus, VideoType
+from app.models.enums import CompanyType, MatchConfidence, SeriesStatus, VideoType
 from app.models.genre import SeriesGenre
 from app.models.keyword import SeriesKeyword
 from app.models.tv import Series
 from app.models.video import Video
 from app.providers.base import MetadataProvider, ProviderNotFoundError
+from app.repositories import polymorphic, tv_repository
 from app.repositories import reference_repository as refs
-from app.repositories import tv_repository
 from app.repositories.provider_repository import get_or_create_provider, upsert_provider_record
 from app.services.metadata.matcher import match_entity
 from app.services.metadata.normalizer import (
@@ -41,7 +40,6 @@ from app.services.metadata.normalizer import (
 
 logger = get_logger(__name__)
 
-_ARTWORK_TYPES = {t.value for t in ArtworkType}
 _VIDEO_TYPES = {t.value for t in VideoType}
 
 _LEADING_ARTICLES = ("the ", "a ", "an ")
@@ -140,30 +138,6 @@ async def _replace_series_credits(
         )
 
 
-async def _replace_entity_artwork(
-    session: AsyncSession, entity_type: str, entity_id: uuid.UUID, provider_id: uuid.UUID, artwork_list
-) -> None:
-    await session.execute(
-        delete(Artwork).where(Artwork.entity_type == entity_type, Artwork.entity_id == entity_id)
-    )
-    for art in artwork_list:
-        art_type = art.artwork_type if art.artwork_type in _ARTWORK_TYPES else "poster"
-        session.add(
-            Artwork(
-                entity_type=entity_type,
-                entity_id=entity_id,
-                artwork_type=ArtworkType(art_type),
-                width=art.width,
-                height=art.height,
-                aspect_ratio=art.aspect_ratio,
-                provider_id=provider_id,
-                provider_asset_id=art.provider_asset_id,
-                original_url=art.url,
-                vote_average=art.vote_average,
-            )
-        )
-
-
 async def _replace_entity_videos(
     session: AsyncSession, entity_type: str, entity_id: uuid.UUID, provider_id: uuid.UUID, videos
 ) -> None:
@@ -252,7 +226,13 @@ async def ingest_series(
     await _replace_series_credits(
         session, series.id, tmdb_provider.id, normalized.cast, normalized.crew, normalized.creators
     )
-    await _replace_entity_artwork(session, "series", series.id, tmdb_provider.id, normalized.artwork)
+    await polymorphic.sync_artwork(
+        session,
+        entity_type="series",
+        entity_id=series.id,
+        provider_id=tmdb_provider.id,
+        artwork_list=normalized.artwork,
+    )
     await _replace_entity_videos(session, "series", series.id, tmdb_provider.id, normalized.videos)
 
     for stub in normalized.seasons:
@@ -262,12 +242,12 @@ async def ingest_series(
         season.air_date = stub.air_date
         season.episode_count = stub.episode_count
         await session.flush()
-        await _replace_entity_artwork(
+        await polymorphic.sync_artwork(
             session,
-            "season",
-            season.id,
-            tmdb_provider.id,
-            [stub.poster] if stub.poster else [],
+            entity_type="season",
+            entity_id=season.id,
+            provider_id=tmdb_provider.id,
+            artwork_list=[stub.poster] if stub.poster else [],
         )
 
     await refs.link_external_id(
@@ -373,7 +353,13 @@ async def ingest_season(
     season.episode_count = normalized.episode_count
     await session.flush()
 
-    await _replace_entity_artwork(session, "season", season.id, tmdb_provider.id, normalized.artwork)
+    await polymorphic.sync_artwork(
+        session,
+        entity_type="season",
+        entity_id=season.id,
+        provider_id=tmdb_provider.id,
+        artwork_list=normalized.artwork,
+    )
 
     for ep in normalized.episodes:
         episode = await tv_repository.get_or_create_episode(
@@ -390,7 +376,13 @@ async def ingest_season(
         await session.flush()
 
         await _replace_episode_credits(session, episode.id, tmdb_provider.id, ep.guest_stars, ep.crew)
-        await _replace_entity_artwork(session, "episode", episode.id, tmdb_provider.id, ep.stills)
+        await polymorphic.sync_artwork(
+            session,
+            entity_type="episode",
+            entity_id=episode.id,
+            provider_id=tmdb_provider.id,
+            artwork_list=ep.stills,
+        )
         await refs.link_external_id(
             session,
             entity_type="episode",
diff --git a/app/services/metadata/normalizer.py b/app/services/metadata/normalizer.py
index fba4ae2..38aee05 100644
--- a/app/services/metadata/normalizer.py
+++ b/app/services/metadata/normalizer.py
@@ -66,6 +66,12 @@ class NormalizedArtwork:
     aspect_ratio: float | None
     language: str | None
     vote_average: float | None = None
+    # True for the single image the provider designates as *the* image for
+    # this entity (TMDb's top-level poster_path/backdrop_path/profile_path),
+    # as opposed to the full alternates list — this is what gets
+    # auto-downloaded for local hosting (app/services/artwork/), so it's
+    # deliberately narrow rather than "the first one in the list".
+    is_primary: bool = False
 
 
 @dataclass
@@ -182,6 +188,7 @@ def normalize_movie(raw: dict) -> NormalizedMovie:
                 None,
                 None,
                 None,
+                is_primary=True,
             )
         )
     if raw.get("backdrop_path"):
@@ -194,6 +201,7 @@ def normalize_movie(raw: dict) -> NormalizedMovie:
                 None,
                 None,
                 None,
+                is_primary=True,
             )
         )
     for kind, tmdb_key in (("poster", "posters"), ("backdrop", "backdrops"), ("logo", "logos")):
@@ -309,19 +317,26 @@ def normalize_person(raw: dict) -> NormalizedPerson:
         )
         for img in images
     ]
-    if raw.get("profile_path") and not any(a.provider_asset_id == raw["profile_path"] for a in artwork):
-        artwork.insert(
-            0,
-            NormalizedArtwork(
-                "profile",
-                _image_url_required(raw["profile_path"]),
-                raw["profile_path"],
-                None,
-                None,
-                None,
-                None,
-            ),
+    if raw.get("profile_path"):
+        existing = next(
+            (a for a in artwork if a.provider_asset_id == raw["profile_path"]), None
         )
+        if existing is not None:
+            existing.is_primary = True
+        else:
+            artwork.insert(
+                0,
+                NormalizedArtwork(
+                    "profile",
+                    _image_url_required(raw["profile_path"]),
+                    raw["profile_path"],
+                    None,
+                    None,
+                    None,
+                    None,
+                    is_primary=True,
+                ),
+            )
 
     also_known_as = raw.get("also_known_as") or []
 
@@ -473,6 +488,7 @@ def normalize_series(raw: dict) -> NormalizedSeries:
                 None,
                 None,
                 None,
+                is_primary=True,
             )
         )
     if raw.get("backdrop_path"):
@@ -485,6 +501,7 @@ def normalize_series(raw: dict) -> NormalizedSeries:
                 None,
                 None,
                 None,
+                is_primary=True,
             )
         )
     for kind, tmdb_key in (("poster", "posters"), ("backdrop", "backdrops"), ("logo", "logos")):
@@ -526,7 +543,7 @@ def normalize_series(raw: dict) -> NormalizedSeries:
             poster=(
                 NormalizedArtwork(
                     "poster", _image_url_required(s["poster_path"]), s["poster_path"],
-                    None, None, None, None,
+                    None, None, None, None, is_primary=True,
                 )
                 if s.get("poster_path")
                 else None
@@ -621,7 +638,7 @@ def normalize_season(raw: dict) -> NormalizedSeason:
         artwork.append(
             NormalizedArtwork(
                 "poster", _image_url_required(raw["poster_path"]), raw["poster_path"],
-                None, None, None, None,
+                None, None, None, None, is_primary=True,
             )
         )
     for img in images.get("posters", []):
@@ -656,7 +673,7 @@ def normalize_season(raw: dict) -> NormalizedSeason:
             stills.append(
                 NormalizedArtwork(
                     "still", _image_url_required(ep["still_path"]), ep["still_path"],
-                    None, None, None, None,
+                    None, None, None, None, is_primary=True,
                 )
             )
         episodes.append(
diff --git a/app/workers/tasks.py b/app/workers/tasks.py
index 6e55904..1cd941c 100644
--- a/app/workers/tasks.py
+++ b/app/workers/tasks.py
@@ -1,10 +1,15 @@
 """arq task functions. Thin wrappers around the ingestion runner so retry/
 concurrency/observability behavior lives in arq's worker loop, not here.
 
-Each task receives the `IngestionJob` row's id (created synchronously by the
-enqueuing endpoint via `get_or_create_ingestion_job`, *not* generated here)
-so status polling has a real, immediately-valid id to look up from the
-moment the HTTP response comes back.
+Each ingest_* task receives the `IngestionJob` row's id (created
+synchronously by the enqueuing endpoint via `get_or_create_ingestion_job`,
+*not* generated here) so status polling has a real, immediately-valid id to
+look up from the moment the HTTP response comes back. `download_artwork_task`
+is the exception — it's an internal side effect of ingestion (see
+`_cascade_artwork_downloads`), not something a client triggers or polls, so
+it isn't tracked in `ingestion_jobs` at all; arq's own per-function retries
+are enough for it (section 10: artwork self-hosting is best-effort caching,
+not a user-facing operation with a status to report).
 """
 
 from __future__ import annotations
@@ -12,9 +17,14 @@ from __future__ import annotations
 import uuid
 from typing import Any
 
+from app.core.database import session_scope
 from app.core.logging import get_logger
+from app.services.artwork.download import download_artwork
+from app.services.artwork.storage import get_artwork_storage
 from app.services.ingestion.runner import (
     get_or_create_ingestion_job,
+    get_primary_artwork_for_download,
+    get_series_season_ids,
     get_series_season_numbers,
     run_movie_ingestion,
     run_person_ingestion,
@@ -25,13 +35,29 @@ from app.services.ingestion.runner import (
 logger = get_logger(__name__)
 
 
+async def _cascade_artwork_downloads(
+    ctx: dict[str, Any], entity_type: str, entity_ids: list[uuid.UUID]
+) -> None:
+    artwork_ids = await get_primary_artwork_for_download(entity_type, entity_ids)
+    if not artwork_ids:
+        return
+    redis = ctx["redis"]
+    for artwork_id in artwork_ids:
+        await redis.enqueue_job("download_artwork_task", str(artwork_id))
+    logger.info(
+        "artwork_downloads_cascaded", entity_type=entity_type, count=len(artwork_ids)
+    )
+
+
 async def ingest_movie_task(ctx: dict[str, Any], job_id: str, external_id: str) -> str:
     movie_id = await run_movie_ingestion(uuid.UUID(job_id), external_id)
+    await _cascade_artwork_downloads(ctx, "movie", [movie_id])
     return str(movie_id)
 
 
 async def ingest_person_task(ctx: dict[str, Any], job_id: str, external_id: str) -> str:
     person_id = await run_person_ingestion(uuid.UUID(job_id), external_id)
+    await _cascade_artwork_downloads(ctx, "person", [person_id])
     return str(person_id)
 
 
@@ -39,6 +65,11 @@ async def ingest_series_task(
     ctx: dict[str, Any], job_id: str, external_id: str, include_seasons: bool = False
 ) -> str:
     series_id = await run_series_ingestion(uuid.UUID(job_id), external_id)
+    await _cascade_artwork_downloads(ctx, "series", [series_id])
+    # Season posters come from the season *stubs* ingest_series already
+    # creates, independent of include_seasons (which only controls whether
+    # full per-season episode data gets fetched) -- so this always runs.
+    await _cascade_artwork_downloads(ctx, "season", await get_series_season_ids(series_id))
 
     if include_seasons:
         # Fan out one ingest_season job per season this series has, using
@@ -65,3 +96,8 @@ async def ingest_season_task(
 ) -> str:
     season_id = await run_season_ingestion(uuid.UUID(job_id), series_external_id, season_number)
     return str(season_id)
+
+
+async def download_artwork_task(ctx: dict[str, Any], artwork_id: str) -> bool:
+    async with session_scope() as session:
+        return await download_artwork(session, get_artwork_storage(), uuid.UUID(artwork_id))
diff --git a/app/workers/worker.py b/app/workers/worker.py
index 7a183a5..db156b4 100644
--- a/app/workers/worker.py
+++ b/app/workers/worker.py
@@ -14,6 +14,7 @@ from arq.connections import RedisSettings
 from app.core.config import get_settings
 from app.core.logging import configure_logging, get_logger
 from app.workers.tasks import (
+    download_artwork_task,
     ingest_movie_task,
     ingest_person_task,
     ingest_season_task,
@@ -33,7 +34,13 @@ async def shutdown(ctx: dict) -> None:
 
 
 class WorkerSettings:
-    functions = [ingest_movie_task, ingest_person_task, ingest_series_task, ingest_season_task]
+    functions = [
+        ingest_movie_task,
+        ingest_person_task,
+        ingest_series_task,
+        ingest_season_task,
+        download_artwork_task,
+    ]
     on_startup = startup
     on_shutdown = shutdown
     redis_settings = RedisSettings.from_dsn(get_settings().REDIS_URL)
diff --git a/docker-compose.prod.yml b/docker-compose.prod.yml
index 8660c87..688a3c9 100644
--- a/docker-compose.prod.yml
+++ b/docker-compose.prod.yml
@@ -87,6 +87,9 @@ services:
       DATABASE_BEHIND_TRANSACTION_POOLER: "true"
       DATABASE_URL: postgresql+asyncpg://${POSTGRES_USER:-aurora}:${POSTGRES_PASSWORD}@pgbouncer:5432/${POSTGRES_DB:-aurora_core}
       REDIS_URL: redis://redis:6379/0
+      MEDIA_ROOT: /app/media
+    volumes:
+      - aurora_media_data:/app/media
     depends_on:
       pgbouncer:
         condition: service_healthy
@@ -119,6 +122,9 @@ services:
       DATABASE_BEHIND_TRANSACTION_POOLER: "true"
       DATABASE_URL: postgresql+asyncpg://${POSTGRES_USER:-aurora}:${POSTGRES_PASSWORD}@pgbouncer:5432/${POSTGRES_DB:-aurora_core}
       REDIS_URL: redis://redis:6379/0
+      MEDIA_ROOT: /app/media
+    volumes:
+      - aurora_media_data:/app/media
     depends_on:
       pgbouncer:
         condition: service_healthy
@@ -135,3 +141,4 @@ services:
 volumes:
   aurora_postgres_data:
   aurora_redis_data:
+  aurora_media_data:
diff --git a/docker-compose.yml b/docker-compose.yml
index 679b09e..1cf2ea3 100644
--- a/docker-compose.yml
+++ b/docker-compose.yml
@@ -54,6 +54,7 @@ services:
       DATABASE_URL: postgresql+asyncpg://aurora:aurora@postgres:5432/aurora_core
       DATABASE_URL_SYNC: postgresql+psycopg2://aurora:aurora@postgres:5432/aurora_core
       REDIS_URL: redis://redis:6379/0
+      MEDIA_ROOT: /app/media
     ports:
       - "8000:8000"
     depends_on:
@@ -67,6 +68,7 @@ services:
       ["uvicorn", "app.main:app", "--host", "0.0.0.0", "--port", "8000", "--reload"]
     volumes:
       - ./app:/app/app
+      - aurora_media_data:/app/media
 
   worker:
     build:
@@ -78,6 +80,7 @@ services:
       DATABASE_URL: postgresql+asyncpg://aurora:aurora@postgres:5432/aurora_core
       DATABASE_URL_SYNC: postgresql+psycopg2://aurora:aurora@postgres:5432/aurora_core
       REDIS_URL: redis://redis:6379/0
+      MEDIA_ROOT: /app/media
     depends_on:
       postgres:
         condition: service_healthy
@@ -87,6 +90,8 @@ services:
         condition: service_completed_successfully
     volumes:
       - ./app:/app/app
+      - aurora_media_data:/app/media
 
 volumes:
   aurora_postgres_data:
+  aurora_media_data:
diff --git a/docs/architecture.md b/docs/architecture.md
index 3cac28a..7cc978a 100644
--- a/docs/architecture.md
+++ b/docs/architecture.md
@@ -90,6 +90,40 @@ star can race to create the same `Person` row (see
 recovers from that specific race directly; the arq retry here is the
 backstop for whatever it doesn't).
 
+## Artwork self-hosting (section 10)
+
+```
+ingest_movie/ingest_series/ingest_person succeeds
+    -> tasks.py: get_primary_artwork_for_download(entity_type, [entity_id, ...])
+    -> one download_artwork_task enqueued per primary artwork id
+    -> download_artwork(): fetch original_url, verify it's an image, cap
+       size, sha256 it, storage.save(), set Artwork.local_path + checksum
+```
+
+Every image API responses reference is stored with its provider CDN URL
+(`original_url`) from the moment it's ingested; `local_path` starts empty
+and is filled in by this pipeline running asynchronously afterward, so
+responses transparently point at TMDb until a local copy exists, then
+switch over. Only artwork marked `is_primary` (the one image TMDb itself
+designates for an entity, not the dozens of alternates also ingested) gets
+downloaded automatically — see `docs/database.md#artwork-storage-self-hosting`.
+
+Storage is behind an `ArtworkStorage` interface
+(`app/services/artwork/storage.py`) with one implementation,
+`LocalDiskStorage` — a shared Docker volume between the `api` and `worker`
+containers (`docker-compose.yml`'s `aurora_media_data`), which is enough
+for this project's actual deployment shape (one Docker host, principle 9:
+avoid premature complexity) but assumes exactly that. A deployment that
+outgrew a single host would implement the same interface against S3/R2
+instead, without the download pipeline or callers changing.
+
+This is also why `app/repositories/polymorphic.py:sync_artwork` upserts
+artwork by `provider_asset_id` instead of the delete-then-recreate pattern
+every other satellite table uses (movie/series/person credits, videos,
+genre/keyword/company links): a delete-then-recreate would generate a fresh
+`Artwork.id` with `local_path=None` on every re-ingestion, silently
+discarding every downloaded copy and forcing a full re-download each sync.
+
 ## Search (section 16)
 
 `app/services/search/base.py:SearchProvider` is the abstraction; API
diff --git a/docs/database.md b/docs/database.md
index f19c6fb..6fb9151 100644
--- a/docs/database.md
+++ b/docs/database.md
@@ -71,6 +71,31 @@ externally-sourced images can be freely redistributed. Aurora never
 downloads video media; `videos.url` is a reference to the provider's
 hosted copy (YouTube, Vimeo, ...).
 
+### Artwork storage (self-hosting)
+
+`artwork.original_url` (the provider's CDN link) is always populated by
+ingestion; `artwork.local_path` starts `NULL` and is filled in
+asynchronously by `app/services/artwork/`. `app/services/common.py:artwork_url()`
+prefers `local_path` and falls back to `original_url`, so API responses
+point at TMDb's CDN until a copy has been downloaded, then switch over
+automatically once it has.
+
+Only artwork marked `is_primary` gets downloaded automatically — the single
+image the provider designates as *the* image for an entity (TMDb's
+`poster_path`/`backdrop_path`/`profile_path`), not the dozens of alternates
+also stored. `app/services/ingestion/runner.py:get_primary_artwork_for_download`
+finds them and `app/workers/tasks.py` enqueues a `download_artwork_task` per
+id once movie/series/person/season ingestion succeeds — see
+`docs/architecture.md` for the full flow.
+
+Storage is local disk (`app/services/artwork/storage.py:LocalDiskStorage`)
+behind an `ArtworkStorage` interface, deliberately simple for a
+single-Docker-host deployment where the `api` and `worker` containers share
+one volume (`docker-compose.yml`'s `aurora_media_data`). A deployment that
+outgrows one host would need an S3/R2-backed implementation of the same
+interface instead. Files are named by content (`<type>/<sha256[:2]>/<sha256>.<ext>`),
+so the same image referenced by two entities is only ever stored once.
+
 ## Polymorphic associations
 
 `credits`, `artwork`, `videos`, `external_ids`, and `release_dates` attach to
@@ -120,14 +145,15 @@ same lowercase strings.
 
 Alembic (section 27); the application **never** creates tables at startup —
 see `app/core/database.py`. The initial migration
-(`migrations/versions/0001_initial_schema.py`) is hand-written rather than
-autogenerated (no throwaway Postgres was available in the environment this
-was built in — see the root README's Known Limitations), but was written
-directly from the same models this document describes and validated with
-`alembic history`; treat a first `alembic upgrade head` against a scratch
-database as the real acceptance test, and autogenerate future migrations
-against it (`alembic revision --autogenerate`) rather than the empty
-database this one was written from.
+(`migrations/versions/0001_initial_schema.py`) was hand-written rather than
+autogenerated (no throwaway Postgres was available in the environment it
+was originally written in), then verified by actually running
+`alembic upgrade head` against a genuinely empty PostgreSQL on a real
+devbox — that run caught a real bug (pre-creating enum types and then also
+letting `CREATE TABLE` auto-create them raised `DuplicateObject`; fixed by
+`create_type=False` on each enum), now fixed and verified clean. Autogenerate
+future migrations against a database that already has this one applied
+(`alembic revision --autogenerate`), not from scratch.
 
 ```bash
 alembic upgrade head          # apply all migrations
@@ -159,10 +185,15 @@ indexes on the alternate-title tables. See
 - Field-level provenance (which provider supplied *this* value) is not
   tracked, only entity-level (`source_provider_id`) and per-provider raw
   payloads (`provider_records.raw_data`).
-- Satellite associations (credits, artwork, videos, genre/keyword/company
-  links) are replaced wholesale on each re-sync rather than diffed, so their
-  Aurora IDs are not stable across re-ingestion — see
-  `app/services/ingestion/movie_ingestion.py`.
+- Satellite associations (credits, videos, genre/keyword/company links) are
+  replaced wholesale on each re-sync rather than diffed, so their Aurora IDs
+  are not stable across re-ingestion — see
+  `app/services/ingestion/movie_ingestion.py`. **Artwork is the exception:**
+  `app/repositories/polymorphic.py:sync_artwork` upserts by
+  `provider_asset_id` instead, specifically so a previously-downloaded
+  `local_path`/`checksum` (see "Artwork storage" below) survives
+  re-ingestion instead of being silently reset to `None` and re-downloaded
+  every sync.
 - Seasons don't get their own `external_ids` row (identified instead by the
   natural `(series_id, season_number)` key) — episodes do, since TMDb gives
   each episode a distinct global id. Revisit if a provider ever needs a
diff --git a/tests/integration/test_artwork_download.py b/tests/integration/test_artwork_download.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..6764ae7
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/integration/test_artwork_download.py
@@ -0,0 +1,116 @@
+"""Integration tests for the artwork download pipeline
+(app/services/artwork/download.py). Uses httpx.MockTransport to simulate
+TMDb's CDN so these run without network access, while still exercising a
+real Artwork row against PostgreSQL."""
+
+from __future__ import annotations
+
+import httpx
+import pytest
+from sqlalchemy.ext.asyncio import AsyncSession
+
+from app.models.artwork import Artwork
+from app.models.enums import ArtworkType
+from app.services.artwork.download import ArtworkDownloadError, download_artwork
+from app.services.artwork.storage import LocalDiskStorage
+from tests.integration.factories import make_provider
+
+FAKE_JPEG_BYTES = b"\xff\xd8\xff\xe0" + b"0" * 100  # not a *real* JPEG, just image-shaped bytes
+
+
+def _client_for(handler) -> httpx.AsyncClient:
+    return httpx.AsyncClient(transport=httpx.MockTransport(handler))
+
+
+async def _make_artwork(session: AsyncSession, *, local_path: str | None = None) -> Artwork:
+    provider = await make_provider(session)
+    artwork = Artwork(
+        entity_type="movie",
+        entity_id=provider.id,  # any UUID; polymorphic tables have no real FK
+        artwork_type=ArtworkType.POSTER,
+        provider_id=provider.id,
+        original_url="https://image.tmdb.org/t/p/original/poster.jpg",
+        local_path=local_path,
+    )
+    session.add(artwork)
+    await session.flush()
+    return artwork
+
+
+@pytest.mark.asyncio
+async def test_download_artwork_saves_file_and_sets_local_path_and_checksum(
+    db_session: AsyncSession, tmp_path
+):
+    artwork = await _make_artwork(db_session)
+    storage = LocalDiskStorage(str(tmp_path), "/media")
+
+    def handler(request: httpx.Request) -> httpx.Response:
+        return httpx.Response(200, headers={"content-type": "image/jpeg"}, content=FAKE_JPEG_BYTES)
+
+    async with _client_for(handler) as client:
+        result = await download_artwork(db_session, storage, artwork.id, client=client)
+
+    assert result is True
+    await db_session.refresh(artwork)
+    assert artwork.local_path is not None
+    assert artwork.local_path.startswith("/media/poster/")
+    assert artwork.checksum is not None
+    assert await storage.exists(artwork.local_path.removeprefix("/media/"))
+
+
+@pytest.mark.asyncio
+async def test_download_artwork_skips_when_already_downloaded(db_session: AsyncSession, tmp_path):
+    artwork = await _make_artwork(db_session, local_path="/media/poster/ab/existing.jpg")
+    storage = LocalDiskStorage(str(tmp_path), "/media")
+
+    def handler(request: httpx.Request) -> httpx.Response:
+        raise AssertionError("should not make an HTTP request when already downloaded")
+
+    async with _client_for(handler) as client:
+        result = await download_artwork(db_session, storage, artwork.id, client=client)
+
+    assert result is False
+
+
+@pytest.mark.asyncio
+async def test_download_artwork_force_redownloads(db_session: AsyncSession, tmp_path):
+    artwork = await _make_artwork(db_session, local_path="/media/poster/ab/existing.jpg")
+    storage = LocalDiskStorage(str(tmp_path), "/media")
+
+    def handler(request: httpx.Request) -> httpx.Response:
+        return httpx.Response(200, headers={"content-type": "image/png"}, content=FAKE_JPEG_BYTES)
+
+    async with _client_for(handler) as client:
+        result = await download_artwork(db_session, storage, artwork.id, client=client, force=True)
+
+    assert result is True
+
+
+@pytest.mark.asyncio
+async def test_download_artwork_rejects_non_image_content_type(
+    db_session: AsyncSession, tmp_path
+):
+    artwork = await _make_artwork(db_session)
+    storage = LocalDiskStorage(str(tmp_path), "/media")
+
+    def handler(request: httpx.Request) -> httpx.Response:
+        return httpx.Response(200, headers={"content-type": "text/html"}, content=b"<html></html>")
+
+    async with _client_for(handler) as client:
+        with pytest.raises(ArtworkDownloadError, match="expected an image"):
+            await download_artwork(db_session, storage, artwork.id, client=client)
+
+
+@pytest.mark.asyncio
+async def test_download_artwork_returns_false_for_missing_row(db_session: AsyncSession, tmp_path):
+    import uuid
+
+    storage = LocalDiskStorage(str(tmp_path), "/media")
+
+    def handler(request: httpx.Request) -> httpx.Response:
+        raise AssertionError("should not make an HTTP request for a nonexistent artwork row")
+
+    async with _client_for(handler) as client:
+        result = await download_artwork(db_session, storage, uuid.uuid4(), client=client)
+
+    assert result is False
diff --git a/tests/integration/test_artwork_sync.py b/tests/integration/test_artwork_sync.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..e8e4163
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/integration/test_artwork_sync.py
@@ -0,0 +1,162 @@
+"""Integration tests for app/repositories/polymorphic.py:sync_artwork.
+
+The one guarantee this module exists for: re-ingesting a title must not
+wipe out artwork that app/services/artwork/ already downloaded locally.
+Before sync_artwork, every ingestion pipeline deleted and recreated all of
+an entity's Artwork rows on each sync, which would silently reset
+local_path/checksum to None every time -- defeating the entire point of
+caching artwork locally.
+"""
+
+from __future__ import annotations
+
+import uuid
+
+import pytest
+from sqlalchemy import select
+from sqlalchemy.ext.asyncio import AsyncSession
+
+from app.models.artwork import Artwork
+from app.repositories.polymorphic import sync_artwork
+from app.services.metadata.normalizer import NormalizedArtwork
+from tests.integration.factories import make_provider
+
+
+def _artwork(asset_id: str, *, vote_average: float = 5.0, is_primary: bool = False) -> NormalizedArtwork:
+    return NormalizedArtwork(
+        artwork_type="poster",
+        url=f"https://image.tmdb.org/t/p/original/{asset_id}",
+        provider_asset_id=asset_id,
+        width=1000,
+        height=1500,
+        aspect_ratio=0.667,
+        language=None,
+        vote_average=vote_average,
+        is_primary=is_primary,
+    )
+
+
+@pytest.mark.asyncio
+async def test_sync_artwork_creates_rows_on_first_sync(db_session: AsyncSession):
+    provider = await make_provider(db_session)
+    entity_id = uuid.uuid4()
+
+    await sync_artwork(
+        db_session,
+        entity_type="movie",
+        entity_id=entity_id,
+        provider_id=provider.id,
+        artwork_list=[_artwork("a.jpg", is_primary=True), _artwork("b.jpg")],
+    )
+    await db_session.commit()
+
+    rows = (
+        (await db_session.execute(select(Artwork).where(Artwork.entity_id == entity_id)))
+        .scalars()
+        .all()
+    )
+    assert {r.provider_asset_id for r in rows} == {"a.jpg", "b.jpg"}
+
+
+@pytest.mark.asyncio
+async def test_sync_artwork_preserves_local_path_across_resync(db_session: AsyncSession):
+    provider = await make_provider(db_session)
+    entity_id = uuid.uuid4()
+
+    await sync_artwork(
+        db_session,
+        entity_type="movie",
+        entity_id=entity_id,
+        provider_id=provider.id,
+        artwork_list=[_artwork("a.jpg", vote_average=5.0)],
+    )
+    await db_session.flush()
+
+    row = (
+        await db_session.execute(select(Artwork).where(Artwork.entity_id == entity_id))
+    ).scalar_one()
+    row.local_path = "/media/poster/ab/deadbeef.jpg"
+    row.checksum = "deadbeef"
+    await db_session.flush()
+
+    # Re-sync as if the movie were re-ingested: same image, but TMDb now
+    # reports a different vote_average.
+    await sync_artwork(
+        db_session,
+        entity_type="movie",
+        entity_id=entity_id,
+        provider_id=provider.id,
+        artwork_list=[_artwork("a.jpg", vote_average=9.0)],
+    )
+    await db_session.commit()
+
+    refreshed = (
+        await db_session.execute(select(Artwork).where(Artwork.entity_id == entity_id))
+    ).scalar_one()
+    assert refreshed.id == row.id  # same row, not delete+recreate
+    assert refreshed.local_path == "/media/poster/ab/deadbeef.jpg"
+    assert refreshed.checksum == "deadbeef"
+    assert refreshed.vote_average == 9.0  # non-download fields still update
+
+
+@pytest.mark.asyncio
+async def test_sync_artwork_removes_rows_no_longer_present(db_session: AsyncSession):
+    provider = await make_provider(db_session)
+    entity_id = uuid.uuid4()
+
+    await sync_artwork(
+        db_session,
+        entity_type="movie",
+        entity_id=entity_id,
+        provider_id=provider.id,
+        artwork_list=[_artwork("a.jpg"), _artwork("b.jpg")],
+    )
+    await db_session.flush()
+
+    # "b.jpg" dropped from the provider's alternates on re-sync.
+    await sync_artwork(
+        db_session,
+        entity_type="movie",
+        entity_id=entity_id,
+        provider_id=provider.id,
+        artwork_list=[_artwork("a.jpg")],
+    )
+    await db_session.commit()
+
+    rows = (
+        (await db_session.execute(select(Artwork).where(Artwork.entity_id == entity_id)))
+        .scalars()
+        .all()
+    )
+    assert {r.provider_asset_id for r in rows} == {"a.jpg"}
+
+
+@pytest.mark.asyncio
+async def test_sync_artwork_adds_new_rows_on_resync(db_session: AsyncSession):
+    provider = await make_provider(db_session)
+    entity_id = uuid.uuid4()
+
+    await sync_artwork(
+        db_session,
+        entity_type="movie",
+        entity_id=entity_id,
+        provider_id=provider.id,
+        artwork_list=[_artwork("a.jpg")],
+    )
+    await db_session.flush()
+
+    await sync_artwork(
+        db_session,
+        entity_type="movie",
+        entity_id=entity_id,
+        provider_id=provider.id,
+        artwork_list=[_artwork("a.jpg"), _artwork("c.jpg")],
+    )
+    await db_session.commit()
+
+    rows = (
+        (await db_session.execute(select(Artwork).where(Artwork.entity_id == entity_id)))
+        .scalars()
+        .all()
+    )
+    assert {r.provider_asset_id for r in rows} == {"a.jpg", "c.jpg"}
diff --git a/tests/unit/test_artwork_download.py b/tests/unit/test_artwork_download.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..6960174
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/unit/test_artwork_download.py
@@ -0,0 +1,58 @@
+"""Unit tests for the low-level HTTP fetch used by artwork downloads
+(app/services/artwork/download.py:_fetch). No database needed — this is
+pure request/response handling, tested against a mocked transport."""
+
+from __future__ import annotations
+
+import httpx
+import pytest
+
+from app.services.artwork.download import ArtworkDownloadError, _fetch
+
+FAKE_JPEG_BYTES = b"\xff\xd8\xff\xe0" + b"0" * 100
+
+
+def _client_for(handler) -> httpx.AsyncClient:
+    return httpx.AsyncClient(transport=httpx.MockTransport(handler))
+
+
+@pytest.mark.asyncio
+async def test_fetch_returns_content_and_content_type():
+    def handler(request: httpx.Request) -> httpx.Response:
+        return httpx.Response(200, headers={"content-type": "image/jpeg"}, content=FAKE_JPEG_BYTES)
+
+    async with _client_for(handler) as client:
+        content, content_type = await _fetch(client, "https://example.test/poster.jpg", 1_000_000)
+
+    assert content == FAKE_JPEG_BYTES
+    assert content_type == "image/jpeg"
+
+
+@pytest.mark.asyncio
+async def test_fetch_rejects_non_image_content_type():
+    def handler(request: httpx.Request) -> httpx.Response:
+        return httpx.Response(200, headers={"content-type": "text/html"}, content=b"<html></html>")
+
+    async with _client_for(handler) as client:
+        with pytest.raises(ArtworkDownloadError, match="expected an image"):
+            await _fetch(client, "https://example.test/oops.html", 1_000_000)
+
+
+@pytest.mark.asyncio
+async def test_fetch_rejects_response_over_max_bytes():
+    def handler(request: httpx.Request) -> httpx.Response:
+        return httpx.Response(200, headers={"content-type": "image/jpeg"}, content=FAKE_JPEG_BYTES)
+
+    async with _client_for(handler) as client:
+        with pytest.raises(ArtworkDownloadError, match="exceeds ARTWORK_DOWNLOAD_MAX_BYTES"):
+            await _fetch(client, "https://example.test/huge.jpg", max_bytes=10)
+
+
+@pytest.mark.asyncio
+async def test_fetch_wraps_http_errors():
+    def handler(request: httpx.Request) -> httpx.Response:
+        return httpx.Response(404)
+
+    async with _client_for(handler) as client:
+        with pytest.raises(ArtworkDownloadError, match="failed to download"):
+            await _fetch(client, "https://example.test/missing.jpg", 1_000_000)
diff --git a/tests/unit/test_artwork_storage.py b/tests/unit/test_artwork_storage.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..0b76371
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/unit/test_artwork_storage.py
@@ -0,0 +1,43 @@
+"""Unit tests for LocalDiskStorage (app/services/artwork/storage.py)."""
+
+from __future__ import annotations
+
+import pytest
+
+from app.services.artwork.storage import LocalDiskStorage
+
+
+@pytest.fixture
+def storage(tmp_path) -> LocalDiskStorage:
+    return LocalDiskStorage(str(tmp_path), "/media")
+
+
+@pytest.mark.asyncio
+async def test_save_writes_file_and_returns_public_url(storage: LocalDiskStorage):
+    url = await storage.save("poster/ab/abcdef.jpg", b"hello world")
+    assert url == "/media/poster/ab/abcdef.jpg"
+    assert await storage.exists("poster/ab/abcdef.jpg")
+
+
+@pytest.mark.asyncio
+async def test_save_creates_intermediate_directories(storage: LocalDiskStorage):
+    await storage.save("still/de/deadbeef.png", b"data")
+    assert await storage.exists("still/de/deadbeef.png")
+
+
+@pytest.mark.asyncio
+async def test_exists_is_false_for_missing_file(storage: LocalDiskStorage):
+    assert not await storage.exists("poster/00/never-written.jpg")
+
+
+@pytest.mark.asyncio
+async def test_save_rejects_path_traversal(storage: LocalDiskStorage):
+    with pytest.raises(ValueError, match="escapes MEDIA_ROOT"):
+        await storage.save("../../etc/passwd", b"malicious")
+
+
+@pytest.mark.asyncio
+async def test_url_prefix_trailing_slash_is_normalized(tmp_path):
+    storage = LocalDiskStorage(str(tmp_path), "/media/")
+    url = await storage.save("poster/ab/x.jpg", b"data")
+    assert url == "/media/poster/ab/x.jpg"
diff --git a/tests/unit/test_normalizer.py b/tests/unit/test_normalizer.py
index b095e11..d341a61 100644
--- a/tests/unit/test_normalizer.py
+++ b/tests/unit/test_normalizer.py
@@ -145,6 +145,21 @@ def test_normalize_movie_maps_artwork_and_videos():
     assert movie.videos[0].is_official is True
 
 
+def test_normalize_movie_marks_exactly_one_primary_poster_and_backdrop():
+    # is_primary picks out TMDb's top-level poster_path/backdrop_path (the
+    # image auto-downloaded for local hosting) from the full alternates
+    # list -- not just "the first one".
+    movie = normalize_movie(FAKE_MOVIE)
+    primary_posters = [a for a in movie.artwork if a.artwork_type == "poster" and a.is_primary]
+    primary_backdrops = [
+        a for a in movie.artwork if a.artwork_type == "backdrop" and a.is_primary
+    ]
+    assert len(primary_posters) == 1
+    assert primary_posters[0].provider_asset_id == "/poster.jpg"
+    assert len(primary_backdrops) == 1
+    assert primary_backdrops[0].provider_asset_id == "/backdrop.jpg"
+
+
 def test_normalize_movie_external_ids_never_include_tmdb_itself():
     # TMDb's own id is handled separately by the ingestion pipeline via
     # `normalized.external_id`, not folded into `external_ids` (section 3:
@@ -187,6 +202,9 @@ def test_normalize_person_profile_artwork_deduplicated():
     # not be inserted twice.
     paths = [a.provider_asset_id for a in person.artwork]
     assert paths.count("/keanu.jpg") == 1
+    # ...and since it wasn't inserted as a second row, the existing one must
+    # be the one marked primary instead -- not silently left unmarked.
+    assert next(a for a in person.artwork if a.provider_asset_id == "/keanu.jpg").is_primary
 
 
 FAKE_SERIES = {