1. MLA Bibliography: Art Sources
Created by Kathryn Reilly

2. What is an Art Source?
A painting, sculpture, photograph or other artistic creation.
A writer would cite an art source if he
or she viewed the artistic piece
in person and then wrote about it.
An art source is considered a primary source.

3. Citing Art Sources
A writer should gather several pieces of information to correctly cite an art source:
The artist’s full name
Title of the artistic piece
Date the artistic piece was created
If a date is unknown, substitute n.d. (no date)
The institution that houses the artistic piece
(ex: name of museum)
The location of the institution

4. Organizing Bibliographic Info
According to MLA standards, an art source should be cited as follows:
Artist last name, first name. Title of artwork in italics. Date of creation. Name of institution displaying artwork in italics, location of institution.
note the
indented lines

5. Art Source Example
Artist last name, first name. Title of artwork in italics. Date of creation. Name of institution displaying artwork in italics, location of institution.
Example
da Vinci, Leonardo. Mona Lisa Louvre Museum, Paris.

6. Art Source Variations
If the date of the artwork is unknown, replace the date with n.d.
Last name, First name. Artwork Title. n.d. Institution Displaying Artwork, Location.
If the art source was viewed online, include the access date and the website address.
Last Name, First Name. Artwork Title. Date. Institution Displaying Artwork, Location. Access Date. <website url>.
Note: Access Date should appear Day Month Year: 10 Dec. 2011