diff --git a/.env.example b/.env.example
index 1a2f1706fd..6111caf343 100644
--- a/.env.example
+++ b/.env.example
@@ -156,6 +156,10 @@ LIGHT='#007FA3'
 GRADIENT_60 = 'rgba(42, 47, 52, 0.6)'
 GRADIENT_85 = 'rgba(42, 47, 52, 0.85)'
 
+## physionet background image(local path to image or a download url)
+## currently a jpg image is expected
+BACKGROUND_IMAGE='static/images/background.jpg'
+
 # Users settings
 # maximum number of emails that can be associated to a user model
 MAX_EMAILS_PER_USER = 10
diff --git a/physionet-django/physionet/settings/base.py b/physionet-django/physionet/settings/base.py
index 471f329dba..84e24f5822 100644
--- a/physionet-django/physionet/settings/base.py
+++ b/physionet-django/physionet/settings/base.py
@@ -174,7 +174,10 @@
 # https://docs.djangoproject.com/en/1.11/howto/static-files/
 
 STATIC_URL = '/static/'
-STATICFILES_DIRS = [os.path.join(BASE_DIR,'static')]
+STATICFILES_DIRS = [
+    os.path.join(BASE_DIR, 'static-overrides'),
+    os.path.join(BASE_DIR, 'static'),
+]
 # Google Storge service account credentials
 if config('GOOGLE_APPLICATION_CREDENTIALS', default=None):
     GOOGLE_APPLICATION_CREDENTIALS = os.path.join(
diff --git a/physionet-django/static-overrides/.gitignore b/physionet-django/static-overrides/.gitignore
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..34e87fe9ca
--- /dev/null
+++ b/physionet-django/static-overrides/.gitignore
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+static-overrides/*
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/physionet-django/static-overrides/.gitkeep b/physionet-django/static-overrides/.gitkeep
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..e69de29bb2
diff --git a/physionet-django/user/management/commands/compilestatic.py b/physionet-django/user/management/commands/compilestatic.py
index bb86aa3c6e..a30dbc3ef9 100644
--- a/physionet-django/user/management/commands/compilestatic.py
+++ b/physionet-django/user/management/commands/compilestatic.py
@@ -1,5 +1,9 @@
 # Management Command to compile static Sass files
 import os
+import shutil
+import urllib.request
+import urllib.error
+
 from django.core.management.base import BaseCommand, CommandError
 from decouple import config
 from django.core.management import call_command
@@ -34,6 +38,34 @@ def setup_theme_colors(colors):
     return themes_colors
 
 
+def setup_static_file(source, destination):
+    """
+    Copies a static file from source to destination
+    :param source: the source file path(local), or a url
+    :param destination: the destination file path(local)
+    """
+
+    if source.startswith('http'):
+        try:
+            urllib.request.urlretrieve(source, destination)
+        except urllib.error.HTTPError:
+            raise CommandError(f'Could not download {source}')
+        except urllib.error.URLError:
+            raise CommandError(f'Could not download {source}')
+    else:
+        try:
+            # check if the destination directories exist, if not create them
+            if not os.path.isdir(os.path.dirname(destination)):
+                os.makedirs(os.path.dirname(destination))
+
+            # copy the file
+            shutil.copy(source, destination)
+        except IOError as e:
+            raise Exception(f'Could not copy {source}. Error: {e.strerror}')
+        except Exception as e:
+            raise Exception(f'Unexpected error: {e}')
+
+
 class Command(BaseCommand):
     help = 'Compile static Sass files'
 
@@ -65,3 +97,9 @@ def handle(self, *args, **options):
         # Demo section for home.css
         theme_generator(themes_colors, imports=['../../custom/scss/home'])
         call_command('sass', 'static/bootstrap/scss/theme.scss', 'static/custom/css/home.css')
+
+        # setup background image
+        image_source = config('BACKGROUND_IMAGE', default='static/images/background.jpg')
+        image_destination = 'static-overrides/images/background.jpg'
+        setup_static_file(image_source, image_destination)
+        self.stdout.write(self.style.SUCCESS('Successfully setup background image'))