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MLA citation style

A guide to citing sources using MLA Style, 9th edition

In-text citations

The cite an artwork in the text of your writing, provide the artist's name and italicize the title of the work. There are few exceptions to this guideline: MLA recommends not italicizing the name of buildings, earthworks, and ancient artworks (e.g., Empire State Building, Great Wall of China, Venus de Milo). See section 2.110 for more information. No additional information in parenthesis is required.

Sample in-text citations:

Blackwood's Leaving for the Labrador

Anne Meredith Barry's Passing Parade

The Steppe Geoglyphs were discovered in 2007.

Original artworks

If artist is unknown, begin with the title. You can omit the city name if it is already part of the museum or collection name.

For untitled artworks, provide a generic description. Do not italicize or capitalize first letter of each word in this generic description.

Optionally, at the end of the entry you may include the format (e.g. Marble sculpture, Photograph, Oil on canvas, etc.).

Citation format:

Artist Last name, First name. Title of Artwork. Year, Museum or Collection, City.

Sample Works Cited:

Pratt, Christopher. Young Girl with Seashells. 1965, Memorial University of Newfoundland Collection, Corner Brook. Oil on masonite.

Westwood, Vivian. Lime green, faux crocodile platform shoes. 1993, Bata Shoe Museum, Toronto.

Images from library databases

Include database name and a DOI (preferred) proceeded by “https://doi.org/” or a URL. For URLs you can omit the “http://" or "https://" from the web address.

Citation format:

Artist. Title of Artwork. Year, Museum or Collection, City. Name of Database, DOI or URL.

Sample Works Cited entry:

Landing of Atlantic Cable in Newfoundland, 1866. 1900, George Eastman House, Rochester. Artstor. library.artstor.org.qe2a-proxy.mun.ca/library/iv2.html?parent=true.

Reproductions

Reproductions published in books

For a book with more than 3 authors/editors, start with the 1st author listed followed by “et al.” For edited or translated books, add the descriptive label "editor" or “editors" or “translator”. In the publisher's name leave out words like Company (Co.), Corporation, Inc., or Ltd. Abbreviate Press (“P”) and University (“U”). For books published before 1900, use city in place of publisher, otherwise only add city when it may help locate a book published in an unexpected place or by an unfamiliar publisher outside North America. For multiple publishers, separate publisher names with a slash (/).

Citation format:

Artist. Title of Artwork. Year of artwork, Museum or Collection, City. Title of Book, Author/s or Editor/s, Publisher/s, Year of publication, p. page/figure/plate #.

Sample Works Cited entries:

Jacque, Herbie. Labrador Black Duck. 2009, Lawrence O'Brien Auditorium, Goose Bay.

Uncommon Clay: The Labradoria Mural, by Dorrie Brown, Creative Publishers, 2010, p. 18.

Reproductions published in ejournals

Citation format:

Artist. Title of Artwork. Year of artwork, Museum or Collection, City. Author/s. "Title of Article." Name
of Journal, vol. #, no. #, day Mon. year, p. #.

Sample Works Cited entry:

Carr, Emily. Scorned as Timber, Beloved of the Sky. 1935, Vancouver Art Gallery, Emily Carr Trust, Vancouver. Udall, Sharyn R. "Georgia O'Keeffe and Emily Carr: Health, Nature and the Creative Process." Women's Art Journal, vol. 27, no. 1, 2006, p. 23.

Reproductions published in print journals

Include database name and a DOI (preferred) proceeded by “https://doi.org/” or a URL. For URLs you can omit the “http://" or "https://" from the web address. If you downloaded the PDF version where other versions are available, include “PDF download” at the end of the entry.

Citation format:

Artist. Title of Artwork. Year or artwork, Museum, or Collection, City. Author/s. "Title of Article." Name of Journal/Magazine, vol. #, no. #, day Mon. year, p. #. Database Name, DOI or URL.

Sample Works Cited entry:

Sherman, Cindy. Untitled Film Still #56. 1980, Collection of Mary Harron. Townsend, Christopher. “Art as Commodity as Art.” Art Monthly, vol. 368, July/Aug. 2013, p. 2. Art Index, www.proquest.com/docview/1412276209?OpenUrlRefId=info:xri/sid:primo&accountid=12378.

Reproductions published on websites

When listing URLs, you can omit the “http://" or "https://" from the web address. If the website title and the publisher are essentially the same, you can leave out the publisher. If there is no date of publication for the website, use the date you accessed it instead. Date of access goes at the end of the entry.

Citation format:

Artist. Title of Artwork. Year of artwork, Museum or Collection, City. Name of Website, Website Publisher/s, day Mon. year, URL.

Sample Works Cited entry:

Shepherd, Helen Parsons. Sunday Morning. 1962, Collection of Memorial University of Newfoundland, St. John’s. The Rooms, www.exhibits.therooms.ca/artgallery/shepherds.asp. Accessed 20 Sept. 2016.