ART 101 - Virtual Art Exhibit

5. Cite Your Sources in MLA Format

Here are a few examples to help you cite your sources in MLA format:

How to Cite Artwork from a Database

Format: Artist. Title of Artwork. Date of Composition.Title of Source (if given), Publisher (if different than source), Publication Date. Database Title, URL. 

Example: Monet, Claude. Water Lilies. 1889. Monet's Greatest Works, Simon Publishing, 2016. Credo, search.credoreference.com/content/entry/bridgemandeag/water_
lilies_by_claude_monet_detail_1840_1926/3.

How to Cite Artwork from a Website

Format: Artist. Title of Artwork. D​ate of Composition. Title of Website, Publisher of Website (if different than title), Publication Date, URL.

Example: Da Vinci, Leonardo. Mona Lisa. 1503. Treasures of the World, PBS, 2016, www.pbs.org/treasures.

*Note:  Exclude publisher if title of website and publisher are the same.
*Note: If website does not have a date, add an access date at the end after the URL: Accessed 7 May 2016.
*Note: Do not include the http:// or https:// in the URL.

How to Cite Artwork from a Book or Ebook (Print or Electronic)

Format: Artist. Title of Artwork. Date of Composition. Title of Book, edited by Editor's Name, edition/version, volume #, Publisher, Publication Year, page number(s). Database Name in Italics. (if electronic), URL.

Example: Warhol, Andy. Marilyn. 1967. Twentieth-Century American Art, edited by Patrick Frank, Oxford UP, 2014, p. 237. eBook Collection, pascal-scc.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/permalink/01PASCAL_SCC/ju4hnn/alma9911648539505611.

*Note: if using a print book, skip the database name.

Labeling Artwork

The artwork in your presentation should be labeled as follows. Remember to still include a Works Cited page entry for each artwork in addition to labeling the work within the presentation.

Label artwork as follows:

• Artist
• Title of artwork (italicized)
• Date of artwork
• Medium.

Additional MLA Examples

In-Text Citations

This in-text citation information will get you started, but see our full In-text Citation Guide for more information and additional examples.

Citing Images

In MLA , you will cite an image in a presentation/project or paper depending on how it is being used.

Image for Decoration Only

If the image is just for illustration or decoration (a stand-alone image) and it is not part of the presentation or discussed in the project or paper, list the entire citation information in the caption of the image. Do not list it on your Works Cited page at the end.

Example of Image for Illustration or Decoration only (not going to talk directly about the image during your presentation or include a mention in your paper or project).

Image is Part of the Presentation/Project/Paper

If you are planning on talking about the image in your presentation or paper, you'll still include a caption for the image, but the caption will only include an in-text citation, and the entire citation information will go on the Works Cited page like you with a regular source.

Example of Image is Part of the Presentation (going to talk about the image specifically during your presentation or mention in your paper or project)

If when you're displaying this image of the laser welding, you are planning on talking about this image and what it shows, then you would include the citation information in your Works Cited, and the caption would just include an in-text citation. ​The entire citation information will go on the Works Cited page like you with any regular source.