LibGuides: Image Research Guide: MLA

Image Citations: MLA Style

Typically, images are not cited in the bibliography. Rather the information necessary to locate an image is included in an image caption. When formatting image citations in MLA style, follow the guidelines below and reference the MLA handbook (2021):

Images should be labeled Figure, abbreviated to Fig., followed by an assigned number,
and given a caption.
Caption details include the artist’s name, the title of the artwork, date, materials, measurements, repository, physical location, source, and credit link.
The source of the artwork is where you referenced the image. It could include a book, article, database, or website.

MLA Handbook Plus This link opens in a new window
The MLA Handbook is the only official, authorized book on MLA format. The ninth edition builds on the MLA’s approach to documenting sources using a template of core elements that allows writers to cite any type of work, from books, e-books, and journal articles in databases to song lyrics, online images, YouTube videos, dissertations, and more.

Image Sources

Format

Fig Number. Artist/Creator. Title. Date. Materials. Measurements, Repository/location. Source, Access Date, URL/DOI. Credit Line.

Example

Fig. XI. Alice Neel. Harold Dyker. 1971, oil on canvas, Artists Collection. Reed Digital Collections, 12, April 2017, rdc.reed.edu/i/00bc7844-5a14-4fa1-9aea-3cfa012d4e7f.
Image © Estate of Alice Neel.

Format

Fig Number. Artist/Creator. Title. Date. Materials. Measurements. Repository/location; Title of Book, contributors, publisher, page. Credit Line.

Example

Fig. 4. Frank Duveneck, Portrait of Maggie Wilson, oil on board, 38.10 x 30.48 cm, Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Texas; Unsuspected Genius: the Art and Life of Frank Duveneck, by Robert Neuhaus, Bedford Press, 227. Image in public domain.

Format

Fig Number. Artist/Creator. Title. Date. Materials. Measurements. Repository/location. Access Date, URL/DOI. Credit Line.

Example

Fig. XI. Elizabeth Murray. Terrifying Terrain. 1989-90. oil on shaped canvases. 84 1/2 x 85 x 11 inches. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. Web. 12, April 2017, www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/485914. © Estate of Elizabeth Murray.