
When writing about art, it is important to correctly cite the works you reference. The style of your citations will depend on the style guide you are using. In APA style, the titles of paintings are italicized. For example, the correct way to cite Emmanuel Leutze's famous painting is *Washington Crossing the Delaware* (1851). If the painting does not have a title, you can skip this step or provide a brief description without italics.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Artist's name | Yes |
| Artist's name format | Last name, comma, first name |
| Title of painting | In italics |
| Title case | Capitalize nouns, verbs, pronouns, and adverbs |
| Year of creation | Yes, in parentheses |
| Medium or materials used | Yes, in brackets |
| Museum name | Yes |
| City | Yes |
| State | Yes, with abbreviation if in the US |
| Country | Yes |
| URL | Yes, including https:// |
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What You'll Learn

Painting titles are italicised in APA
When following the APA citation style, the titles of paintings are indeed italicised. This is true whether the titles are original, added by someone other than the artist, or translated.
> Artist’s Last Name, Artist’s First Name. (Year). Title of Painting [Description of material]. Museum, City, State Abbreviation/Country. URL
For example:
> Leutze, E. (1851). Washington crossing the Delaware [Painting]. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY, United States. www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/11417
Note that if the artist is unknown, you can begin with the title. If the date of creation is unknown, use '(n.d.)' for "no date". If no title is given, you may skip the title step and provide a short, unitalicised description with regular sentence capitalisation, for example, "Untitled portrait of King Henry VIII".
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Artist name is written last name first
When citing a painting in APA style, the artist's name is written with their last name first, followed by a comma and then their first name. For example, a citation for a painting by Emmanuel Leutze would begin: "Leutze, Emmanuel.".
If the artist has a middle initial or name, it should be listed after the first name, followed by a period. So, a citation for a work by E. Hopper would appear as follows: "Hopper, E.".
If no artist is credited for the work, you can simply start with the title of the painting. In this case, the title should be written in italics, followed by a period. For example, if there is no known artist for a painting titled "Untitled Portrait of a Woman," the citation would begin: "Untitled Portrait of a Woman.".
After the artist's name or title, you should provide the year of creation in parentheses, followed by a period. Then, write the title of the painting in italics, using sentence case and capitalizing all nouns, verbs, pronouns, and adverbs. For example, a citation for the painting "Washington Crossing the Delaware" by Emmanuel Leutze would continue as such: "Washington crossing the Delaware."
Finally, you should include additional information such as the materials used, the dimensions, the current location of the artwork, and the URL of the webpage where the painting was viewed, if applicable.
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Provide description if untitled
When following the APA style, the titles of paintings should be written in italics. However, if a painting does not have a title, you do not need to provide a description or write "Untitled". Instead, you can simply skip this step and move on to listing the year the painting was completed.
If you would like to include a description of an untitled painting, this should be written in sentence case and not italicised. For example, you could write "Untitled portrait of King Henry VIII" or "Red rose on yellow background". This description should be included in square brackets where the title would usually go.
The full citation should follow the format:
> Artist’s Last Name, Artist’s First Initial/Name. (Year). Title of painting [Description of material]. Museum, City, State Abbreviation/Country. URL
For example:
> Leutze, E./Emmanuel. (1851). Washington crossing the Delaware [Painting]. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY, United States. www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/11417
Note that if a painting does not have an artist credited, you can start with the title or description.
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Include materials used in square brackets
When citing a painting in APA style, you should include the materials used in square brackets. Here is a step-by-step guide on how to do this:
Start by writing the artist's name, with their last name first, followed by a comma and then their first name or initial. For example: "Leutze, E.".
After the artist's name, put the year the painting was created in parentheses, followed by a period. In the example, this would be: "Leutze, E. (1851).".
Next, write the title of the painting in italics using sentence case. Capitalize all nouns, verbs, pronouns, and adverbs. In our example, the title is "Washington Crossing the Delaware", so the citation so far would be: "Leutze, E. (1851). *Washington Crossing the Delaware*".
Now, include the medium or materials used in square brackets. For instance, " [Painting]". The citation now becomes: "Leutze, E. (1851). *Washington Crossing the Delaware* [Painting]".
After the medium, list the name of the museum where the painting is currently displayed, followed by a comma and the city where the museum is located. In our example, this would be: "Leutze, E. (1851). *Washington Crossing the Delaware* [Painting]. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York,".
If the museum is located in the United States, add the abbreviation for the state followed by a comma, and then "United States" or "US". For other countries, simply write the country name. The final citation for our example, including the state and country, would be: "Leutze, E. (1851). *Washington Crossing the Delaware* [Painting]. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY, United States.".
Finally, add the direct URL for the webpage where the painting can be viewed, including "https://www." Do not put a period after the URL. So, the complete citation for "Washington Crossing the Delaware" by Emmanuel Leutze would be: "Leutze, E. (1851). *Washington Crossing the Delaware* [Painting]. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY, United States. https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/11417".
Remember, if there is no title for the painting, you can skip the title step and provide a short, unitalicized description instead. Also, if the artist is unknown, begin with the title or description, and if the date of creation is unknown, use "(n.d.)" for "no date".
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Cite images not connected to a museum differently
When citing a painting or artwork in APA format, you should structure your citation as follows:
Artist's Last Name, Artist's First Name. (Year). Title of Artwork [Description of material]. Name of Website, URL
For example:
Leutze, E. (1851). Washington crossing the Delaware [Painting]. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY, United States. www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/11417
Note that the artist's name should be formatted with their last name first, followed by their first name and a period. The title of the artwork should be in italics, and the description of the material should be included in brackets. The name of the website where the artwork was accessed should also be in italics, followed by the URL of the artwork's webpage, starting with "www."
If the artwork is not associated with a museum, simply omit the museum-related information from your citation. The basic structure for citing an image not connected to a museum remains the same as the above example, with a focus on including as much of the following information as possible: artist's name, title of the work, date of creation, materials used, size of the work, website name, and URL.
For example, if you are citing an image found on a website like Flickr, your citation might look like this:
Lecher, P. (c. 1880). Women's Art Class at State School of the Deaf, Delavan, Wisconsin [Black and white photographic print, 19 x 24 cm]. Flickr Commons, https://www.flickr.com/photos/smithsonian/2921660418/in/album-72157605409711458/
Here, the artist's name, title of the work, date of creation, materials used, and size of the work are included, followed by the website name in italics and the URL.
It is important to note that the specific format may vary slightly depending on the style guide you are using (APA, MLA, Chicago, etc.) and the specific instructions from your instructor or publication guidelines. Additionally, when citing images, always ensure that you are respecting copyright laws and providing proper attribution to the artist or creator. Some sites like Creative Commons and Wikimedia provide citation information along with the image, which can be easily copied and included in your references.
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Frequently asked questions
Yes, the titles of paintings are italicized in APA format.
The format is as follows:
Artist’s Last Name, Artist’s First Name. (Year). *Title of Painting* [Description of material]. Museum, City, State Abbreviation/Country. URL
If the artist is unknown, you can begin with the title. For example:
*Title of Painting*. (Year). [Description of material]. Museum, City, State Abbreviation/Country. URL
If the painting does not have a title, you can provide a brief description in regular sentence capitalization and without italics. For example:
Artist's Last Name, Artist's First Name. (Year). Untitled portrait of King Henry VIII [Description of material]. Museum, City, State Abbreviation/Country. URL
If the date of creation is unknown, use '(n.d.)' for "no date." For example:
Artist's Last Name, Artist's First Name. (n.d.). *Title of Painting* [Description of material]. Museum, City, State Abbreviation/Country. URL











































