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Visual Culture 2: Unpacking Art, Power, and Modernity

This page has been updated to MLA 9

Physical Objects Viewed In-Person

If the artist's name is unknown, begin with the title. You can omit the city if it is part of the museum or collection name. Including the medium is optional; if it is relevant to your discussion, you may add it at the end of the entry.

Creator's Last Name, First Name. Title of Work. Year of creation, Repository, City. Medium.

For captions, use:  "Fig. #." followed by either the full bibliographic citation or a partial citation.

  • If you use the full bibliographic citation, punctuate the caption as you would for a Works Cited entry, but do not invert the creator's name.
    • If the full bibliographic citation is included in the caption, you do not need to add it to the Works Cited list.
  • For a partial citation, use commas to separate elements of information, and include the full citation details in your Works Cited list.

For in-text citations, use:  (Fig. #) or (Creator's Last Name)

Works Cited Example

Sheets, Millard. Angel's Flight. 1931, Los Angeles Country Museum of Art. Oil on canvas.

 Note: The city name was omitted since it appears in the repository's name.

Caption Example

Angel's Flight by Millard Sheets

Fig. 1. Millard Sheets, Angel's Flight, 1931.

 Note: If the full citation is included in the caption, you do not need to add it to the Works Cited list.

In-Text Citation Example

(Fig. 1) or (Sheets)

For untitled works, provide a generic description of the source. Capitalize the first word of the description and any proper nouns in it. Do not capitalize or italicize each word. Do not put the description in quotes.

Creator's Last Name, First Name. Description of the work. Year the work was created, Repository, City.

Works Cited Example

Africano, Nicolas. A woman's head wrap with bandana, 2007, De Young Museum, San Francisco.

Caption Example

Fig. 2. Nicolas Africano, A woman's head wrap with bandana, 2007.

 Note: If the full citation is included in the caption, you do not need to add it to the Works Cited list.

In-Text Citation Example 

(Fig. 2) or (Africano)

Reproduction in a Book

Creator's Last Name, First Name. Title of Work. Date of Composition or Publication, Medium, Repository, City. Title of Book, Edition information, Contributors, Publisher, Year of Publication, p. Page/Figure/Plate Number.

For captions, use:  "Fig. #." followed by either the full bibliographic citation or a partial citation.

  • If you use the full bibliographic citation, punctuate the caption as you would for a Works Cited entry, but do not invert the creator's name.
    • If the full bibliographic citation is included in the caption, you do not need to add it to the Works Cited list.
  • For a partial citation, use commas to separate elements of information, and include the full citation details in your Works Cited list.

For in-text citations, use (Fig. #) or (Creator's Last Name)

Works Cited Examples

Sheets, Millard. Angel's Flight. 1931, oil on canvas, Los Angeles Country Museum of Art. Painting and Sculpture in Los Angeles, 1900-1945, by Nancy Moure, LACMA, 1980, p. 56.
Caption Examples

Fig. 3. Millard Sheets, Angel's Flight, 1931, Los Angeles Country Museum of Art, oil on canvas. Painting and Sculpture in Los Angeles, 1900-1945, by Nancy Moure, LACMA, 1980, p. 56.

 Note: If the full citation is included in the caption, you do not need to add it to the Works Cited list.
In-Text Citation Example

(Fig. 3) or (Sheets)

Reproduction in a Periodical

IN PRINT:

Creator's Last Name, First Name. Title of Work. Date of Composition, Repository, City. Last Name of Author, First Name. "Title of Article." Name of Journal, volume number, issue number, Day Month Year of Publication, p. page number.

For captions, use:  "Fig. #." followed by either the full bibliographic citation or a partial citation.

  • If you use the full bibliographic citation, punctuate the caption as you would for a Works Cited entry, but do not invert the creator's name.
    • If the full bibliographic citation is included in the caption, you do not need to add it to the Works Cited list.
  • For a partial citation, use commas to separate elements of information, and include the full citation details in your Works Cited list.

For in-text citations, use (Fig. #) or (Creator's Last Name)

Works Cited Examples

Carr, Emily. Scorned as Timber, Beloved of the Sky. 1935, Vancouver Art Gallery, Emily Carr Trust. 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.
Caption Examples

Fig. 4. Emily Carr, Scorned as Timber, 1935. 

Note: If the full citation is included in the caption, you do not need to add it to the Works Cited list.
In-Text Citation Example

(Fig. 4) or (Carr)

ONLINE:

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

Creator's Last Name, First Name. Title of Work. Date of Composition, Repository, City. Last name of author, first name. "Title of article." Name of journal, vol. number, issue number, day month year, p. Page number. Database name, DOI or URL.

For captions, use:  "Fig. #." followed by either the full bibliographic citation or a partial citation.

  • If you use the full bibliographic citation, punctuate the caption as you would for a Works Cited entry, but do not invert the creator's name.
    • If the full bibliographic citation is included in the caption, you do not need to add it to the Works Cited list.
  • For a partial citation, use commas to separate elements of information, and include the full citation details in your Works Cited list.

For in-text citations, use (Fig. #) or (Creator's Last Name)

Works Cited Examples

Sherman, Cindy. Untitled Film Still #56. 1980, Collection of Mary Harron. Townsend, Christopher. “Art as Commodity as Art.” Art Monthly, no. 368, July 2013, p. 2. Art & Architecture Source, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&AuthType=ip,sso&db=asu&AN=88959179&site=eds-live&scope=site.
Caption Examples

Fig. 5. Cindy Sherman, Untitled Film Still #56, 1980.
In-Text Citation Example

(Fig. 5) or (Sherman)

Reproduction in a Library Database

Creator's Last Name, First Name. Title of Artwork. Year, Repository, City. Name of Database, URL or DOI. 

For captions, use:  "Fig. #." followed by either the full bibliographic citation or a partial citation.

  • If you use the full bibliographic citation, punctuate the caption as you would for a Works Cited entry, but do not invert the creator's name.
    • If the full bibliographic citation is included in the caption, you do not need to add it to the Works Cited list.
  • For a partial citation, use commas to separate elements of information, and include the full citation details in your Works Cited list.

For in-text citations, use (Fig. #) or (Creator's Last Name)

Works Cited Example

Monet, Claude. The Parc Monceau. 1878, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City. JSTOR, https://jstor.org/stable/community.16008751. Accessed 20 Sept. 2024.
Caption Example

Fig. 6. The Parc Monceau by Claude Monet, 1878, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City, JSTOR, https://jstor.org/stable/community.16008751. Accessed 20 Sept. 2024.

 Note: If the full citation is included in the caption, you do not need to add it to the Works Cited list.
In-Text Citation Example

(Fig. 6) or (Monet)

 Note: While MLA 9th edition recommends including URLs, they can be left out when citing a work found in a library database. Accessed date is also optional.

Reproduction on a Website

For URLs, you can omit “http://”. 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.

Creator's Last Name, First Name. Title of Work. Date of Composition or Publication, Repository, City. Title of Book or Web Site, Edition information, Contributors, Publisher, p. Page Number, URL. Accessed Date.

For captions, use:  "Fig. #." followed by either the full bibliographic citation or a partial citation.

  • If you use the full bibliographic citation, punctuate the caption as you would for a Works Cited entry, but do not invert the creator's name.
    • If the full bibliographic citation is included in the caption, you do not need to add it to the Works Cited list.
  • For a partial citation, use commas to separate elements of information, and include the full citation details in your Works Cited list.

For in-text citations, use (Fig. #) or (Creator's Last Name)

Works Cited Examples

Sheets, Millard. Angel's Flight. 1931, Los Angeles Country Museum of Art. Flickr, photo by Randall Hobbet (Lightbender), 8 June 2014, www.flickr.com/photos/rdhobbet/14538537296. Accessed 9 Nov. 2017.

 Note: Use the creator's real name with their username in parentheses when possible.
Caption Examples

Fig. 7. Millard Sheets, Angel's Flight, 1931.

 Note: If the full citation is included in the caption, you do not need to add it to the Works Cited list.
In-Text Citation Example

(Fig. 7) or (Sheets)
  • Last Updated: Dec 8, 2025 11:00 AM
  • URL: https://otis.libguides.com/visual_culture_2
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