fine art

[ fahyn ahrt ]

noun

1. a visual art considered to have been created primarily for aesthetic purposes and judged for its beauty and meaningfulness, specifically, painting, sculpture, drawing, watercolor, graphics, and architecture. Compare commercial art.

fine art

noun

1. art produced chiefly for its aesthetic value, as opposed to applied art
2. Also calledbeaux arts often plural any of the fields in which such art is produced, such as painting, sculpture, and engraving

Word History and Origins

Origin of fine art¹

First recorded in 1760–70

Idioms and Phrases

Something requiring highly developed techniques and skills, as in He's turned lying into a fine art , or The contractor excels in the fine art of demolition . This term alludes to the fine arts , such as music, painting, and sculpture, which require both skill and talent. It is now often used to describe anything that takes skill to do. [First half of 1800s]

Example Sentences

She long ago mastered the fine art of juggling major projects with breaking news and quick turnaround investigations.

From ProPublica

He received a master’s degree in fine arts with a field of study in theater and playwriting at Southern Illinois University, his LinkedIn page says.

From Washington Blade

Geoff Edgers, The Washington Post’s national arts reporter, covers everything from fine arts to popular culture.

From Washington Post

It all adds up to a cautionary tale about the fine art of technology fundraising.

From Fortune

Blurring the divide between fine art and craft is Salvadoran AmericanErick Antonio Benitez’s idea of acceptance, expressed here with three pieces that combine paintings and tapestries.

From Washington Post

The exhibit also includes examples of designers borrowing from fine art, as Yves Saint Laurent did with his Mondrian dress.

From The Daily Beast

Situated in hipster Hackney, the Viktor Wynd Museum of Curiosities, Fine Art & Natural History opens to the public on Wednesday.

From The Daily Beast

The figure will be high but we could lend our time and sign a nondisclosure agreement with R.B. fine art.

From The Daily Beast

So why is one considered fine art and the other the harmless pastime of a hobbyist?

From The Daily Beast

You don't have to fly to Paris or London to see fine art—we have plenty right in our own backyard.

From The Daily Beast

The chief buildings are the hydropathic and the Macfarlane museum of fine art and natural history.

From Project Gutenberg

Shiftlessness is a fine art with them, they've carried it so far.

From Project Gutenberg

If I am to make any kind of figure in this new rôle of fine-art speculator (so my thoughts continued) I must control my feelings.

From Project Gutenberg

He judged those, as we have seen, by the rules of the fine art of literature, and found them rubbish.

From Project Gutenberg

In its most developed stage every fine art is bound still to play upon the same sensibilities.

From Project Gutenberg