How to Reference a Painting, Sculpture or Photograph Using MLA Style

When you are working on a research paper, you may need to use not only traditional reference books, but other types of material such as paintings, sculptures or photographs housed in museums or galleries. Such resources help establish the mindset or atmosphere of a particular period and can be immensely helpful in establishing how certain events were viewed by people during a given period. These works must be cited so that a reader can retrace your research steps should they wish to do so.

Things You'll Need

  • Artist's name
  • Title of the work
  • Year the work was created
  • Institution housing the work
  • City where the work is located
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Instructions

  1. Write Article: How to Reference a Painting, Sculpture or Photograph Using MLA Style

    • 1

      Begin with the name of the artist, followed by a period. Just as authors are listed, artists' names also should be noted in the order last name, first name, middle initial. If the artist's name is Louisiana Browning, then your citation, thus far, should read: Browning, Louisiana.

    • 2

      Underline the title of the work.If your word processor will not support this type of formatting, then use a underscore symbol to indicate the words that should be underlined. Follow the title with another period. The the title of the work is "Mississippi Dusk," then your citation should now read: Browning, Louisiana. _Mississippi Dusk_.

    • 3

      List the year that the work was created, followed by a period. This information is usually available in an information booklet provided by the housing institution or on a card next to the painting. If Ms. Browning painted the work i 1978, then your citation should now read: Browning, Louisiana. _Mississippi Dusk_. 1978.

    • 4

      Add the name of the institution where the artwork is housed and a comma. This will generally be a museum, gallery, or possibly a private residence. For example, if the painting were displayed at The Southern Works Collections in Warner Robbins, Georgia, then your reference would now read:Browning, Louisiana. _Mississippi Dusk_. 1978. Southern Works Collections,

    • 5

      Finish with the city where the work of art is located and a period.In this example, this means that your finished citation will look like this: Browning, Louisiana. _Mississippi Dusk_. 1978. Southern Works Collections, Warner Robbins.

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