AHIS 3642: North American Art & Culture

Citation Basics

Most professors of art history require that you use of the Chicago citation style to create bibliographies and footnotes. There is also a variant of Chicago known as the Turabian citation style that is used as well. Because citations direct your reader back to the work of scholarship you are using in your research, they will differ slightly depending on the type of research material you are working with. For example, an article in a book will include information about the publisher of the book, while an article in a journal will include the name of the journal and its volume and issue number. It is best to include as much information about the resources you are working with as possible so anyone who wishes to look at those resources will be able to find them.
 

Online Citation Style Guides

Making Image Captions in Chicago Citation Style
 

Title: Self-Portrait in a Velvet Dress

Artist: Frida Kahlo

Date: 1926

Medium: Oil on canvas

Location of work: Private Collection

Where image was found: Wikimedia
 

URL (if applicable): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Self_Portrait_in_a_Velvet_Dress.jpg

Caption Examples

Captions are used to offer basic information to your reader about images you provide in your papers or digital projects. When captioning artwork you should include the location where the image was acquired. 

Image obtained in-person:

Fig. 1. Frida Kahlo, Self-Portrait in a Velvet Dress, 1926. Oil on canvas. Private collection.

Image obtained online: 

Fig. 1. Frida Kahlo, Self-Portrait in a Velvet Dress, 1926. Oil on canvas. Wikipedia.org. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Self_Portrait_in_a_Velvet_Dress.jpg

Image obtained in print:

Fig. 1. Frida Kahlo, Self-Portrait in a Velvet Dress, 1926. Oil on canvas. In Title of Book, by AuthorFirst AuthorLast. City: Publisher, Date.

Books about Writing in the Catalog

Online Resources for Writing About Art

Introduction to Citation Justice and Indigenous Citation Practice

Much of what you will find here on indigenous citation practice comes from research guides created by the Xwi7xwa Library at the University of British Columbia. From their website: "Xwi7xwa Library is a centre for academic and community Indigenous scholarship. Its collections and services reflect Aboriginal approaches to teaching, learning, and research." Some useful guides in their collection:

• Indigenous Research Methodologies
• First Nations and Indigenous Studies

Also created at the University of British Columbia, but not in the Xwi7xwa Library, is this guide to First Nations and Indigenous Art.

Indigenous Elements of Style (some points to consider)

• Respect Indigenous realities
• Respect Indigenous cultural property
• Collaborate with the Indigenous communities you are describing
• Make every effort to follow Indigenous protocols
• Compensate Indigenous creators
• Name Indigenous Peoples using their preferred terms and identities
• Indigenous Peoples are not of another nation or belonging to another nation
• Avoid past tense when referring to Indigenous Peoples 

Further Reading