Hi Matt
add a JLabel to the gridlayout, using the .gif or .jpg file as the label's icon
Eg:
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jLabel1 = new JLabel();
jLabel1.setIcon(new ImageIcon("C:\\images\\image001.jpg"));
contentPane = (JPanel)this.getContentPane();
contentPane.setLayout(new GridLayout(1, 0, 0, 0));
contentPane.add(jLabel1, 0);