Art History/Education/Studio Resources

MLA: An Original Work of Visual Art

To cite an original work of visual art (a lithograph, painting, photograph, sculpture, etc.) in an institution such as a museum or in a private collection, follow this format:

Artist’s last name, first name. Title of artwork. Year. Medium. Name of institution/private collection housing artwork, city where institution/private collection is located.

Examples:

• Evans, Walker. Penny Picture Display. 1936. Photograph. Museum of Mod. Art, New York. Heckman, Albert. Windblown Trees. N.d. Lithograph on paper. Private collection.
• Rembrandt Harmensz van Rijn. Aristotle with a Bust of Homer. 1653. Oil on canvas. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.
• Seurat, Georges. Man Leaning on a Fence. 1880-81? Graphite on paper. Collection of André Bromberg, n.p.

An Image/Reproduction of a Work of Visual Art from the Web

To cite an image/reproduction of a work of visual art from the Web, follow this format:

Artist’s last name, first name. Title of artwork. Year. Name of institution/private collection housing artwork. Title of database or website. Publisher/sponsor of database or website. Medium consulted. Date of access.

Note about publisher/sponsor: When known, include if it is not related to the housing institution/collection; is a parent entity of

the database or website; or offers the source in additional formats.

Examples:

• Braun, Adolphe. Flower Study, Rose of Sharon. c. 1854. Metropolitan Museum of Art. Grove Art Online. Oxford
• University Press. Web. 2 June 2011.
• Currin, John. Blond Angel. 2001. Indianapolis Museum of Art. IMA: It’s My Art. Web. 9 May 2007.
• Eggleston, William. Memphis. c. 1969. Museum of Mod. Art.
• Academy of Art University Collection, LUNA. Academy of Art University. Web. 27 Apr. 2011.
• Lange, Dorothea. The Migrant Mother. 1936. Prints and Photographs Div., Lib. of Cong. Dorothea Lange:
• Photographer of the People. Web. 9 May 2007.

An Image/Reproduction of a Work of Visual Art from a Print Source

To cite an image/reproduction of a work of visual art from a print source, follow this format:

Artist’s last name, first name. Title of artwork. Year. Name of institution/private collection housing artwork. Title of print source. Author/editor’s first name last name. Publication city: Publisher, year. Page/plate number. Medium of reproduction.

Examples:

• Eakins, Thomas. Spinning. 1881. Private collection. Thomas Eakins. Ed. Darrel Sewell. Philadelphia: Philadelphia Museum of Art in assn. with Yale UP, 2001. Plate 91. Print.
• Kahlo, Frida. The Two Fridas. 1939. Museo de Art Moderno, Mexico City. Gardner’s Art Through the Ages: The Western Perspective. 12th ed. Ed. Fred S. Kleiner, Christin J. Mamiya. Vol. 2. Belmont: Thomson Wadsworth, 2006. 774. Print.
• Moholy-Nagy, Lászlò. Photogram. N.d. Museum of Mod. Art, New York. The Contest of Meaning: Critical Histories of Photography. Ed. Richard Bolton. Cambridge: MIT P, 1989. 94. Print.