Artwork caption and wall label format: title, date, medium, dimensions and credit line, with a real example
A museum wall label lists, in a fixed order, the artist, title, date, medium, dimensions and credit line. Paintings are normally measured height by width, in centimetres and inches. The example below labels Origin of Light (2025): mixed media with acrylic and imitation gold leaf (metallic leaf) on canvas, 80 × 60 cm.
The fields of a wall label, in order
Origin of Light is built from gestures and layered pigment: white and scarlet rise through deep grey, and small fragments of imitation gold leaf (metallic leaf) catch the light. A label next to a work like this has to say what it is made of and how large it is, and leave the reading of the surface to the viewer or to a longer text.
Institutions agree on the core and differ on the details. The Art Gallery of South Australia's guide to reading a wall label lists artist, language group, where the work was made, the artist's date of birth, medium, dimensions and credit line, with an extended text only sometimes added. Its description of the medium line is a plain statement of what the work is made from, with the example of synthetic polymer paint on linen; dimensions are in centimetres; the credit line, in its words, relates to how the work of art was acquired. The caption template in a Chicago-style library guide runs artist, title, date, medium and support, then city and collection, with the title in italics.
Two practical readings follow. First, the sequence matters less than being consistent: pick one order and use it for every work in the room. Second, a gallery label and a printed caption are different documents. The label sits on the wall and is short; the caption sits under a reproduction and, in the Chicago-style pattern, may close with a copyright statement in parentheses.
Medium and dimensions: the two lines that cause errors
Medium. Write it as the artist declares it, not as it looks in a photograph. Origin of Light is declared as mixed media with acrylic and imitation gold leaf (metallic leaf) on canvas, so the label carries the words imitation and metallic leaf, not gold. Fire of Devotion is declared simply as acrylic on canvas. The studio states that the metallic leaf on its works is sealed with a spray sealant.
Dimensions. The Getty's Categories for the Description of Works of Art says a basically two-dimensional work such as a painting is usually measured height by width, asks for metric and US customary units together where possible, and notes that measurements are assumed to be overall unless stated otherwise, with frame or mount dimensions kept apart from those of the primary support or image.
Perfeito Studio lists width first on its own pages, so Origin of Light appears there as 60 x 80 cm (23.6 x 31.5 in): 60 cm wide, 80 cm high, and its orientation field reads vertical. In the height-by-width order of a museum label the same painting is 80 × 60 cm (31.5 × 23.6 in). The two lines describe one object; what has to be avoided is mixing the orders on a single sheet. A square work such as Patina Field, 100 x 100 cm, shows no difference, and a horizontal work such as Amber Strata (150 x 100 cm wide by high) is where a reversed order would mislead.
A worked example: three labels from the studio's record
Every entry below comes from the studio's own record of each work (title, series, year, medium, dimensions, Archive ID). This page shows the format; it is not a downloadable file.
| Line | Origin of Light | Fire of Devotion | Patina Field |
|---|---|---|---|
| Artist | Alyne Perfeito (Brazilian) | Alyne Perfeito (Brazilian) | Alyne Perfeito (Brazilian) |
| Title, date | Origin of Light, 2025 | Fire of Devotion, 2026 | Patina Field, 2026 |
| Medium | Mixed media with acrylic and imitation gold leaf (metallic leaf) on canvas | Acrylic on canvas | Acrylic on canvas |
| Dimensions (h × w) | 80 × 60 cm (31.5 × 23.6 in) | 150 × 100 cm (59.1 × 39.4 in) | 100 × 100 cm (39.4 × 39.4 in) |
| Reference | Archive ID AP-HOC-2025-002 | Archive ID AP-HOC-2026-003 | Archive ID AP-TAE-2026-006 |
| Holder | Perfeito Studio, Brasília | Perfeito Studio, Brasília | Perfeito Studio, Brasília |
Each work's own page carries the same fields under its technical details: Origin of Light, Fire of Devotion and Patina Field.
Credit line, press caption and what not to invent
A credit line records how a work was acquired, which is why museum examples read like acquisition notes. A painting still held by its maker has no acquisition to record, and the example above does not invent one: the last row names the holder, Perfeito Studio in Brasília, and nothing more. No collection, gallery or exhibition is implied, because none is recorded for the work.
For a press article or catalogue the Chicago-style pattern applies: artist, italic title, date, medium and support, with the dimensions placed after the medium in the examples, and the credit or copyright statement at the end in parentheses when the image is reproduced publicly. Check the publication's own style sheet before fixing the order, since venues adapt these rules.
Two small rules keep a label honest. Show an unknown as unknown: the studio's record does not publish a frame, a weight or a hanging system, so a label carries none, and the studio answers questions about a specific work on request. And keep the price off the wall label; it belongs to the work's page and to a price list, not to the cartouche.
For those acquiring: what the label data becomes
For someone who acquires a work, the label fields are the same record that travels with it. Every acquisition is direct from the artist and includes the signed Certificate of Authenticity, carrying the full technical record and the Archive ID, with a QR code that links to the work's official page. It also includes an artist dossier, a fiscal invoice or official receipt, the Artwork Acquisition Agreement and professional packaging.
Scale matters for how a label reads in a room: Origin of Light at 80 cm high and 60 cm wide hangs comfortably beside a bench or console, while Fire of Devotion at 150 cm high needs a wall that can hold a single large vertical. Shipping is quoted per destination and paid by the buyer; see shipping for the terms the studio states.
From the studio
The view from the studio
Alyne Perfeito is also a trained architect, and an architectural drawing is read through its title block: what it is, how big, which date, which reference. The studio's record of each painting follows the same logic. Origin of Light is catalogued as AP-HOC-2025-002 and its medium names the imitation metallic leaf in so many words, because a label that rounds that up to gold would describe a different object. The fields in the table above are the ones the studio keeps for every work, in the same order.
Frequently asked
What order do the fields go in on a museum wall label?
Sources agree on the core and differ on the rest. The Art Gallery of South Australia lists artist, language group, place made, date of birth, medium, dimensions and credit line, with an optional extended text. A Chicago-style caption template runs artist, title, date, medium and support, then city and collection. Pick one order and keep it for every work.
How do you write the medium of a mixed-media painting on a label?
Write it as the artist declares it, naming each material and the support. For Origin of Light the medium is mixed media with acrylic and imitation gold leaf (metallic leaf) on canvas. Do not shorten imitation leaf to gold, and do not add techniques the record does not declare.
Should dimensions be height × width, in cm or inches?
The Getty's cataloguing standard says a painting is usually measured height by width and asks for metric and US customary units together where possible. Perfeito Studio lists width first on its pages, so Origin of Light is 60 x 80 cm there and 80 × 60 cm in museum order. Never mix the two orders on one sheet.
What is a credit line and when is it needed?
A credit line states how a work was acquired, for example a gift to a museum. It is needed when there is an acquisition to record; a copyright statement, where required, is a separate item that Chicago-style captions place at the end. A work still held by its maker has nothing to record there, so the label names the holder instead.
How should a work be captioned in a press article or catalogue?
Follow the publication's style sheet. In a Chicago-style pattern the order is artist, italic title, date, medium and support, with dimensions after the medium, and the credit or copyright statement at the end in parentheses. For Origin of Light the studio's record gives title, 2025, medium, 80 × 60 cm and Archive ID AP-HOC-2025-002.
Ask for the record of a specific work
Dimensions, medium, Archive ID and detail photographs of any work can be requested from the studio.
Sources
- Art Gallery of South Australia — 2026-10-29
- Dickinson College Library — 2026-10-29
- Getty Research Institute, Categories for the Description of Works of Art — 2026-10-29
- Perfeito Studio (src/data/obras.json) — 2026-10-29
- Perfeito Studio (src/data/studio-facts.json) — 2026-10-29
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