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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.

Basic Format: 1 Author and Page Numbers

Place the author’s last name and page number in parenthesis. If the in-text citation is at the end of a sentence, place the period outside the parenthesis.

Example 1: (Hennessy 81).

Example 2: (Hennessy 81-82).

No Page Numbers

If a source has no page numbers, omit the page number. Keep in mind, most electronic sources do not include pages.

Example 1: ("Everyday Victims")

Example 2: (Jones)

No Author

If the source has no author, your in-text citation will use the title of the source that starts your works cited entry. The title may appear in the sentence itself or, abbreviated, before the page number in parenthesis.

Example 1: (“Noon” 508).

Example 2: (Faulkner’s Novels 25).

Example 3: (“Climate Model Simulations").

2 Authors

If the entry on the Works Cited page begins with the names of two authors, include both last names in the in-text citation, connected by and.

Example: (Dorris and Erdrich 23).

3+ Authors

If the source has three or more authors, include the first author’s last name followed by et al.

Example: (Burdick et al. 42).

MLA Handouts