How To Cite Art
Learn how to cite a painting you see in person or online in different styles with examples and tips. Find out what information you need and how to format your citation correctly. Learn how to cite artwork in a museum, an art exhibition, or an informational plaque using APA style.
See the format, elements, and examples for each type of artwork reference. Whether youre a student, researcher, or enthusiast, knowing how to cite visual art can feel daunting. This comprehensive art citation guide will demystify the process, covering everything from citing paintings and citing sculptures to citing photographs and other forms of visual media.
To cite a painting, you need more information than you would for a standard text source. Typically, you'll also need to include the current location of the work, its dimensions, and its material or medium. The specific format for your citation varies depending on the citation style you use.
Artwork Cite an artwork (painting, photograph, sculpture, installation, etc.) from a museum. Use another form to cite other images accessed online or in print. To cite materials posted at a museum, use the following style: Format of information (wall text, object label, brochure), Gallery Name, Number or Exhibition Title, Museum Name, City, State.
You may be surprised but artwork is also considered source material for research papers. So they also require a proper citation. Below we will explain how you can reference different art pieces correctly using formatting styles like APA, MLA, and Chicago.
Two general-purpose citation styles are commonly used in the disciplines of art and design: " Chicago " and " MLA." Within " Chicago," its Notes/Bibliography format is preferred in the arts/humanities. Citing an Image in a Works Cited List (MLA) MLA format is designed for writing about the arts. The way MLA formats in-text citations for figures within papers is designed to make it easy by using the container system.
It focuses on the author or creator in the citations to really highlight them. But it is pretty similar to the other styles. Including access dates to websites is optional.
Add ... The preferred style guide for art historical writing is the Chicago Manual of Style. Remember to cite images used in presentations or papers using Chicago Style.
