Library:How to Cite Images
Introduction
You should provide sources for images you use in a paper, presentation, or other venue, just as you would cite authors of works that you have quoted. This means that you need to provide specific information about the site where you found the image.
Many people simply cite "Google Images" for images they have found using a Google search, but remember that Google isn't the real source of the images - it's the site that did the searching! If you were quoting from an article on a website you found through a Google Search, would you cite Google for that? Of course not - you'd cite the article and the website where you found it! Images are pretty much the same: you want to provide the specific address of the website on which it was located, not the Google results page.
In-Text Citations and Captions
Check with your professor to see if they have any specific preferences for your in-text citations. Generally, you should label each image with "Figure" or "Fig." followed by a number, and then provide as much of the following information as possible. When you discuss the image in the text of your paper, write "(see Fig. 1)" when you refer to the work.
For All Images
Citing images will require all of the following elements:
Artist’s name [first name then last], title [italicized], date. Medium and support, measurements.
Example: Guido Reni, Joseph and Potiphar's Wife, c. 1630. Oil on canvas, 128.9 x 170 cm.
| Item Type | Citation Elements | Bibliography |
|---|---|---|
| Museum Object | Artist’s name [first name then last], title [italicized], date. Medium and support, measurements, repository, and city. | Elizabeth Peyton, Princess Kurt, 1995. Oil on linen, 14 x 11.75 in., Walker Art Center, Minneapolis. |
| Online Image | Artist’s name [first name then last], title [italicized], date. Medium and support, measurements. Website or database [if applicable] (access date) [if applicable]. | Glenn Ligon, Warm Broad Glow, 2005. Neon and paint, 24 x 190 in. http://www.belkin.ubc.ca/past/GlennLigonSomeChanges/ (accessed April 22, 2009. |
APA
Consult the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association and the APA Style Guide to Electronic References for more detailed information.
| Image Location | Bibliography |
|---|---|
| Book/Journal/Other Print Publication | Reni, Guido (Artist). ( c. 1619-20). Bacchus and Ariadne [Painting]. Losa Angeles; Los Angeles County Museum of Art. From Henning, A. & Schaefer, S. (2008) Captured Emotions: Baroque Painting in Bologna, 1575-1725. edited by Andreas Henning and Scott Schaefer Los Angeles: J. Paul Getty Museum, 2008) 61. |
| Website | Mannix, Paul. (Photographer). (2007). Honey Island Swamp, Louisiana, USA [Photograph]. Retrieved April 22, 2009, from http://www.flickr.com/photos/paulmannix/1526620540. |
| Database | Adelman, Bob. (Photographer). (1965). USA. 1965. Portrait of Martin Luther King [Image of photograph]. ARTstor. Retrieved April 22, 2009, from http://www.artstor.org. |
MLA
Consult the MLA Style Manual and Guide to Scholarly Publishing for more detailed information.
| Image Location | Footnote/Endnote | Bibliography |
|---|---|---|
| Book/Journal/Other Print Publication | 1. Guido Reni, Bacchus and Ariadne, c. 1619-20, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Captured Emotions: Baroque Painting in Bologna, 1575-1725, edited by Andreas Henning and Scott Schaefer (Los Angeles: J. Paul Getty Museum, 2008) 61. | Reni, Guido. Bacchus and Ariadne. c. 1619-20. Los Angeles County Museum of Art. Captured Emotions: Baroque Painting in Bologna, 1575-1725. Edited by Andreas Henning and Scott Schaefer. Los Angeles: J. Paul Getty Museum, 2008. 61. |
| Website | Paul Mannix, Honey Island Swamp, Louisiana, USA, 2007, 22 April 2009 <http://www.flickr.com/photos/paulmannix/1526620540/> | Mannix, Paul. Honey Island Swamp, Louisiana, USA. 2007. Accessed 22 April 2009. |
| Database | Bob Adelman, USA. 1965. Portrait of Martin Luther King, 1965. 22 Apr. 2009 <http://www.artstor.org>. | Adelman, Bob. USA. 1965. Portrait of Martin Luther King. 1965. ARTstor. 22 Apr. 2009 <http://www.artstor.org>. |
Chicago/Turabian
Consult A Manual for Writers of Research Papers, Theses and Dissertations for more detailed information.
| Image Location | Footnote/Endnote | Bibliography |
|---|---|---|
| Book/Journal/Other Print Publication | 1. Guido Reni, Bacchus and Ariadne, c. 1619-20, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Captured Emotions: Baroque Painting in Bologna, 1575-1725, edited by Andreas Henning and Scott Schaefer (Los Angeles: J. Paul Getty Museum, 2008) 61. | Reni, Guido. Bacchus and Ariadne. c. 1619-20. Los Angeles County Museum of Art. Captured Emotions: Baroque Painting in Bologna, 1575-1725. Edited by Andreas Henning and Scott Schaefer. Los Angeles: J. Paul Getty Museum, 2008. 61. |
| Website | 1. Paul Mannix, Honey Island Swamp, Louisiana, USA, 2007, 22 April 2009 <http://www.flickr.com/photos/paulmannix/1526620540/>. | Mannix, Paul. Honey Island Swamp, Louisiana, USA. 2007. Accessed 22 April 2009. <http://www.flickr.com/photos/paulmannix/1526620540/>. |
| Database | 1. Bob Adelman, 1965. USA. 1965. Portrait of Martin Luther King. [database on-line] (ARTStor, accessed 22 April 2009); available http://www.artstor.org, image ID NYC21672.jpg. |
Adelman, Bob,1965. USA. 1965. Portrait of Martin Luther King. Database on-line. ARTstor. http://www.artstor.org. Accessed 22 April 2009. |