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Art: Citing Art APA Style

In-text Citations

How do I refer to an artwork in the text of my paper?

Give the artist's name and italicize the title of the work. Give the year in parenthesis.

Blackwood's Leaving for the Labrador (2011)
Barry's Passing Parade (1994)

More Help with APA

APA Style 7th edition: How to Cite Art in your Reference List

If artist is unknown, begin with the title. If the date of creation is unknown, use (n.d.) for "no date."

Original Drawing / Painting / Sculpture / Photo / Etc.

Artist. (Year). Title [Description of medium]. Institution,

Museum, or Collection, City, abbreviated

Province/State, Country.

Pratt, C. (1965). Young girl with seashells [Oil on

masonite]. Memorial University of

Newfoundland Collection, Corner Brook,

NL, Canada.

For untitled artworks, provide a description in square brackets:

Westwood, V. (1993). [Lime green, faux crocodile

platform shoes]. Bata Shoe Museum,

Toronto, ON, Canada.

Image in a Library Database (e.g. Artstor)
Do not include URLs or database names for articles accessed through the library.

Artist. (Year). Title [Description of medium]. Institution,

Museum, or Collection, City, abbreviated

Province/State, Country.    

Landing of atlantic cable in Newfoundland, 1866

[Transparency, collodion on glass]. (1900).

George Eastman House, Rochester, NY,

United States.

Image on a Museum Website

Artist. (Year). Title [Description]. Institution, Museum,

or Collection, City, abbreviated Province/

State, Country. URL

West, B. (1770). The death of General Wolfe

[Oil on canvas]. Royal Ontario Museum,

Toronto, ON, Canada. https://www.rom.on.

ca/en/exhibitions-galleries/galleries/art-

culture/sigmund-samuel-gallery-of-canada

Image on a Website
Use this format to cite images not connected to a museum (APA Manual p. 347).

Artist. (Year). Title of artwork {Description of

medium]. Name of Website. URL

Saila, P. (1999). Dancing bear [Bronze sculpture].

Government of Canada. https://www.canada.

ca/en/canadian-heritage/services/art-

monuments/public-art/dancing-bear.html

Reproduction in a Print Book
If the book's publication date and the date of the artwork differ, include both dates in your in-text citation: (Jacque, 2009/2010)

Artist. (Year of book's publication). Title of

artwork [Description]. Institution, Museum,

or Collection, City, abbreviated Province/

State, Country. In Author/Editor's name,

Book title (p. #). Publisher/s. (Original work

xxxx).

Jacque, H. (2010). Labrador black duck [Clay tile].

Lawrence O'Brien Auditorium, Goose Bay, NL,

Canada. In D. Brown, Uncommon clay: The

labradoria mural (p. 18). Creative Publishing.

(Original work 2009).

Reproduction in an eBook
Include the DOI or "Digital Object Identifier", if it has one, at the end of the entry. Do not include URLs or database names for articles accessed through the library. For Internet eBooks, include a URL at the end of the entry. If the book's publication date and the date of the artwork differ, include both dates in your in-text citation: (Hooper, 1876-1877/2014)

Hooper, W. W. (2014). Famine victims [Photograph].

In H. Fehrenback and D. Rodogno (Eds.),

Humanitarian photography: A history (p. 41).

Cambridge University Press. (Original work

1876-1877). https://doi.org/10.1017/

CBO9781107587694

Reproduction in a Print Journal
If the article's publication date and the date of the artwork differ, include both dates in your in-text citation: (Carr, 1935/2006)

Artist. (Year of article publication). Title of artwork

[Description]. Institution, Museum, or

Collection, City, abbreviated Province/

State, Country. In Author, Title of

article, Title of Journal, volume #(issue #),

page #. (Original work xxxx).

Carr, E. (2006). Scorned as timber, beloved of the

sky [Oil on canvas]. Vancouver Art Gallery,

Emily Carr Trust, Vancouver, BC, Canada. In

S. R. Udall, Georgia O'Keeffe and Emily Carr:

Health, nature and the creative process.

Women's Art Journal, 27(1), 23. (Original

work 1935).

Reproduction in an Online Journal
Include the DOI or "Digital Object Identifier", if it has one, at the end of the entry. Do not include URLs or database names for articles accessed through the library. For Internet articles, include a URL at the end of the entry. If the article's publication date and the date of the artwork differ, include both dates in your in-text citation: (Houdon, 1771/2014)

Artist. (Year of article publication). Title of artwork

[Description]. Institution, Museum, or

Collection, City, abbreviated Province/

State, Country. In Author, Title of

article, Title of Journal, volume #(issue #),

page #. (Original work xxxx). DOI or URL

Houdon, J. A. (2014 June). Denis Diderot [Terracotta

bust]. The Louvre, Paris, France. In R. Milano,

Communicating with the self in the French

enlightenment: Intellectualism, naturalism and

embodiment in the bare-chested portrait bust,

Studies in Visual Arts and Communication,

1(1), 4. (Original work 1771). https://journalonarts.

org/previous-issues/vol-1-1-june2014/

Books