Captions:
Chicago Manual of Style 3.3, 3.7, 3.21, 3.29
Captions appear below an image or illustration. If presenting a table, see separate instructions in the Chicago Manual of Style for tables.
A caption may be an incomplete or complete sentence. It should be capitalized as you would for a regular sentence, but any specific titles of any works should follow the rules for titles and be italicized when necessary. Captions should be labeled as a Figure followed by the number in order in which it appears. The first figure should be Fig. 1, second figure is Fig. 2, etc.
A credit line should appear at the end of a caption, sometimes in parentheses or in different type (or both). A photographer’s name occasionally appears in small type parallel to the bottom or side of a photograph. Include a short citation to the work and who owns the image.
Captions for Art:
If citing a work of art you should check with the guidelines from the Art Bulletin and College Art Association.
If the image is of a piece of art include information about the artist and location of the artwork in the caption. Works of art can be cited using this format, but include the publication citation for where the image of the work of art was found, unless you have viewed the work in person.
If the image is being reproduced publicly you should consider adding copyright information, ie who owns the right to an image.
Images, Maps, Charts, Diagram, Graphs, Illustrations:
Chicago Manual of Style – 14.165, 8.193
Cite the image following the style for the source where the image was found, such as book, article, website, etc. You can use the citation for the book, article or website where the visual information is found and make the following changes. If there is a photographer or illustrator use his or her name in place of the author. If there is a caption, use the caption in place of the title of an article, or add the caption title in quotation marks with proper capitalization. Add a page number where the image is found. If a numbered figure is given, add it after the page number.
See specific examples below for images found in articles and on the web.
Image from an Article:
Footnote:
1. David Talbot, "Saving Holland," Technology Review 110, no. 4 (2007): 52, figure 3.
Bibliography:
Talbot, David. "Saving Holland." Technology Review 110, no. 4 (2007): 52, figure 3.
Vermeer, Dura. "High and Dry Concept." Technology Review110, no. 4 (2007): 56. Maxwell Museum of
Anthropology. “An Arrowhead, Made from a Copper Nugget, Found at a Melting Alaskan Glacier.”
Miller-McCune 3, iss. 6 (2010): 23, figure 4.
Online Image:
If citing an image found using Google images, cite the original source – not Google.
Footnote:
1. James Estrin, “A Worshiper at St. Patrick's Cathedral on Fifth Avenue in Manhattan,” New York Times, November 27, 2011. http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/28/nyregion/for-catholics-the-word-was-a-bit-different-amen.html?ref=us.&_r=0.
Bibliography:
Estrin, James. “A Worshiper at St. Patrick's Cathedral on Fifth Avenue in Manhattan.” New York Times.
November 27, 2011. http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/28/nyregion/for-catholics-the-word-was-
a-bit-different-amen.html?ref=us.&_r=0.
When citing a work of art cite the location of the piece and the owner or collection where it is housed along with the medium and size. See also Work of Art and Captions for Art below.
Image or Photograph from a Book:
Footnote:
1. Bob Gruen, “Madison Square Garden, July 1972,” in Life, by Keith Richards with James Fox (New York: Little, Brown and Company, 2010), color plate 12.
Bibliography:
Gruen, Bob. “Madison Square Garden, July 1972.” In Life, by Keith Richards with James Fox,
color plate 12. New York: Little, Brown and Company, 2010.
Work of Art:
If you have viewed this work in person, cite as below.
Footnote:
1. Michelangelo Buonarroti, The Slave, 1513-15, marble, 2.09 m., Paris, The Louvre.
Bibliography:
Buonarroti, Michelangelo. The Slave, 1513-15. Marble, 2.09 m. Paris, The Louvre.
Dior, Christian. May, 1953. Silk, Length at CB ((a) to waist): 5 3/4 in. (14.6 cm) Length at CB (b):
45 1/2 in. (115.6 cm) New York, Metropolitan Museum of Art.
If you find an image of the work of art in a website, book, article, use the format below.
Delaroche, Paul. "Portrait of a Woman," 1829. Pastel drawing, 10 by 12 in. (Ackland Art Museum,
Chapel Hill, NC). In European Drawings from the Collection of the Ackland Art Museum, by
Carol C. Gillham and Carolyn H. Wood. Chapel Hill: The Museum, University of North Carolina,
2001, page 93.
Art Found on the Web:
Dior, Christian. May, 1953. Silk, Length at CB ((a) to waist): 5 3/4 in. (14.6 cm) Length at CB (b): 45 1/2
in. (115.6 cm) New York, Metropolitan Museum of Art. Accessed January 5, 2011.
http://www.metmuseum.org/Collections/search-the-collections/80002249.
Art Found in an Article:
Abdel Hadi Al-Gazzar, Un Djinn Amoureux, 1953. Gouache and india ink on paper, 53 by 28 centimeters.
Alexandria, Collection of the Museum of Fine Arts. "Exceeding Realism: Utopian Modern Art on
the Nile and Abdel Hadi Al-Gazzar's Surrealistic Drawings." South Atlantic Quarterly 109, no. 3
(Summer2010 2010): 585, Figure 1.
Chicago Manual of Style 8.194
Italicize the name of a regularly appearing cartoon and cite appropriately depending where the cartoon is published, e.g., magazine, newspaper, book, website.
Footnote:
1. Roz Chast, “Scenes from a Vacation,” New Yorker, October 31, 2011, 66-67.
Bibliography:
Chast, Roz. “Scenes from a Vacation.” New Yorker, October 31, 2011, 66-67.
Weiner, Zach. “Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal.” Smbc-comics.com.
Accessed November 18, 2011. http://www.smbc-comics.com/?id=2434.