MLA Style: Basics
Images and Artwork
Sculpture or Other Object
With Title
General Format
Artist. Title of Artwork. Date, Location. Format (optional).
For Example
Rogers, Randolph. Nydia, the Blind Flower Girl of Pompeii. 1859, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City. Marble sculpture.
In-Text Citation
Parenthetical Citation
(Rogers)
Citation in Prose
Randolph Rogers carved "Nydia, the Blind Flower Girl of Pompeii" in 1859 and it was a popular American sculpture...
No Title
General Format
Artist (if known). Description of Artwork. Date (if known). Location.
For Example
Theatrical Masks and Ram Vessel for Offering. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City.
In-Text Citation
Parenthetical Citation
(Theatrical Masks and Ram Vessel)
Citation in Prose
The Theatrical Masks and Ram Vessel for Offering are thought to be from Egypt and from the 2nd-century B.C.E...
Painting
Viewed Firsthand (In a Museum)
General Format
Artist. Title of Artwork. Date, Location.
For Example
Wood, Thomas Waterman. A Bit of War History: The Veteran. 1866, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City.
In-Text Citation
Parenthetical Citation
(Wood)
Citation in Prose
The Veteran is the third in a series of paintings by Thomas Waterman Wood...
Viewed Online
General Format
Artist. Title of Artwork. Date. Website, URL.
For Example
Wood, Thomas Waterman. A Bit of War History: The Veteran. 1866. The MET, www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/13344.
In-Text Citation
Parenthetical Citation
(Wood)
Citation in Prose
Thomas Waterman Wood's painting The Veteran depicts an African-American soldier...
Viewed in a Book
General Format
Artist. Title of Artwork. Date of Artwork, Location. Title of Book, by Author, Publisher, Date, p.#.
For Example
Zoffany, Johann. Major William Palmer with his Second Wife, the Mughal Princess Bibi Faiz Bakhsh. 1785, The British Library, London. Empire and Art: British India, by Renate Dohmen, Manchester University Press, 2018, p. 34.
In-Text Citation
Parenthetical Citation
(Zoffany)
Citation in Prose
Johann Zoffany's painting Major William Palmer with his Second Wife, the Mughal Princess Bibi Faiz Bakhsh...
Photograph
Viewed Firsthand (In a Museum)
General Format
Photographer. Title of Photograph. Date, Location.
For Example
Käsebier, Gertrude. Whirling Horse, Sioux. Circa 1899, Museum of Modern Art, New York City.
In-Text Citation
Parenthetical Citation
(Käsebier)
Citation in Prose
Gertrude Käsebier's photograph of Whirling Horse, a member of the Sioux, ...
Viewed Online
General Format
Photographer. Title of Photograph. Date. Website, URL.
For Example
Käsebier, Gertrude. Whirling Horse, Sioux. Circa 1899. MOMA, www.moma.org/collection/works/47300.
In-Text Citation
Parenthetical Citation
(Käsebier)
Citation in Prose
Gertrude Käsebier's photograph of Whirling Horse, a member of the Sioux, ...
Illustrated Work or Cartoon
Illustrated Work or Cartoon
General Format
Artist. "Title of Work." Title of Source, Date (if available, if not add an accessed date at the end), Location.
For Example
Seluk, Nick. "Argument style." The Awkward Yeti, theawkwardyeti.com/comic/argument-styles/. Accessed 11 June 2021.
In-Text Citation
Parenthetical Citation
(Seluk)
Citation in Prose
Nick Seluk, the comic behind The Awkward Yeti and adorable Heart and Brain comics...