MLA Image Citation: How to Cite Images in MLA Format
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0 sourcesMLA Image Citation follows the MLA 9 core-element order: creator, title of the image in italics, creation date, then the container (website or museum), city, and URL. In text, cite the artist’s surname or a shortened title in parentheses.
What is the MLA format for citing an image?
The MLA format for an image lists the creator, the image title in italics, the creation year, and the container where you found it, ending with a URL for digital sources. MLA 9 uses one flexible template for every source type.
| Core element | What goes here | Punctuation after |
|---|---|---|
| Author / creator | Artist or photographer, Last, First | Period |
| Title of source | Image title in italics (or a plain description) | Period |
| Creation date | Year the work was made | Comma |
| Title of container | Website or museum name | Comma |
| Location | City (for artwork) or URL (for digital) | Period |
What does a correct MLA image citation look like?
A complete MLA image citation stacks the core elements in a fixed order, with italics on the title and a period closing the entry. The colour-coded example below shows a digital painting cited from a museum website.
- Creator — artist surname first, then given name, closed by a period.
- Title — the artwork’s name in italics; use a plain description if untitled.
- Date — year the image was created, followed by a comma.
- Container — the website or institution hosting the image.
- Location — the URL (drop
https://) or, for physical art, the city.
How do you cite an image found online in MLA?
To cite an online image, give the creator, the italicized title, the creation date, the website in italics, and the URL without https://. Add the date you accessed it only if the page has no fixed publication date.
PhotographAdams, Ansel. The Tetons and the Snake River. 1942. National Archives Catalog, catalog.archives.gov/id/519904.
Digital artworkCassatt, Mary. The Boating Party. 1893–94. National Gallery of Art, www.nga.gov/collection/art-object-page.61382.html.
With access dateNakamura, Lena. Foggy Coastline at Dawn. Unsplash, unsplash.com/photos/foggy-coastline. Accessed 12 July 2026.
When the creator is unknown, begin the entry with the italicized title. When the image has no formal title, replace the title slot with a short factual description in plain roman type, capitalizing only the first word and any proper nouns.
How do you cite a physical artwork in a museum?
For an artwork you viewed in person, list the artist, the italicized title, the year, an optional medium, the institution, and its city. No URL is needed because the source is physical, not digital.
PaintingVan Gogh, Vincent. The Starry Night. 1889, oil on canvas, Museum of Modern Art, New York.
SculptureRodin, Auguste. The Thinker. 1904, bronze, Musée Rodin, Paris.
Medium (oil on canvas, bronze, gelatin silver print) is an optional supplemental element in MLA 9. Include it when it helps your reader, and stay consistent across your Works Cited list. If you saw the artwork reproduced in a book instead, add the book as a second container after the museum details.
How do you cite a stock photo or an untitled image?
Cite a stock photo like any online image: photographer or agency, description or title, the platform, and the URL. For untitled images, a concise description takes the title slot and is not italicized or placed in quotation marks.
Stock photoOkafor, Daniel. Businesswoman Presenting to a Team. Getty Images, www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/12345678.
UntitledBourke-White, Margaret. Photograph of a bread line during the Louisville flood. 1937, Time, time.com/3879668/.
Clip art / graphicRecycling Symbol Icon. Flaticon, www.flaticon.com/free-icon/recycling.
| Situation | What to do |
|---|---|
| No creator listed | Start with the title; skip the author slot entirely. |
| No title | Write a plain description, no italics or quotes. |
| No date | Omit the date; add an access date for the URL if useful. |
| Agency owns it | Use the agency (Getty Images, AP) as the creator or container. |
How do you cite an image in text and label figures in MLA?
The MLA in-text citation for an image is the creator’s surname in parentheses, or a shortened italicized title if there is no author. Because images have no page numbers, no locator follows the name.
Named creatorThe swirling brushwork dominates the composition (Van Gogh).
No authorThe icon reduces recycling to a single loop (Recycling Symbol Icon).
If you reproduce the image in your paper, place it near the relevant text and add a label and caption. Number figures sequentially as Fig. 1, Fig. 2, and so on, with the caption directly below the image.
Figure captionFig. 1. Vincent van Gogh, The Starry Night, 1889, Museum of Modern Art, New York.
When your caption already contains full source details, MLA lets you omit a separate Works Cited entry for that image. If you only mention the image in prose, include the full entry in your Works Cited list instead.
How accurate is this guide, and what are the limits?
These rules reflect the MLA Handbook, 9th edition, the current standard as of 2026. MLA is deliberately flexible, so two careful writers may format the same image slightly differently and both be correct within the template.
- Medium and access dates are optional supplemental elements, not mandatory fields.
- Instructors and journals sometimes impose house rules that override defaults; follow the guidance you are given.
- A generator speeds up formatting but cannot judge whether you identified the true creator or original source, so always verify the metadata yourself.
- Screenshots, memes, and AI-generated images are edge cases; describe them plainly and cite the platform where you found them.
Frequently asked questions
How do you cite an image in MLA format?
List the creator, the image title in italics, the creation date, the container (website or museum), and a URL or city. Example: Van Gogh, Vincent. The Starry Night. 1889, Museum of Modern Art, New York.
How do you cite an image with no author in MLA?
Begin the Works Cited entry with the italicized title instead of a name. In text, use a shortened form of that title in parentheses, since there is no surname to cite.
Do you italicize image titles in MLA?
Yes. Titles of self-contained visual works such as paintings, photographs, and sculptures are italicized. A plain description used in place of a missing title is not italicized or placed in quotation marks.
How do you cite an image found on Google in MLA?
Do not cite Google itself. Follow the image to its original host, then cite that source: the creator, title, date, the actual website, and the direct URL to the image page.
How do you cite an image in text in MLA?
Put the creator’s surname in parentheses, for example (Cassatt). Images have no page numbers, so no locator follows. If there is no author, use a shortened italicized title instead.
How do you label an image inside an MLA paper?
Number it as Fig. 1 and place a caption directly below the image with the creator, title, date, and source. A full caption can replace a separate Works Cited entry.