decorative art

American  

noun

1. art that is meant to be useful as well as beautiful, as ceramics, furniture, jewelry, and textiles.

2. Usually decorative arts. any of the arts, as ceramics or jewelry making, whose works are created to be useful.

3. works of decorative art collectively.

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Etymology

Origin of decorative art

First recorded in 1850–55

Example Sentences

Prints, paintings and works of decorative art document the philosophies, pivotal events and major figures of the time, from the Boston Massacre and Paul Revere to indigenous conflicts and George Washington.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 18, 2026

The swanky new museum will feature master paintings, tapestries, sculptures, decorative art pieces, armory and sumptuous royal furniture collected by Spanish monarchs over five centuries, spanning the empire’s Hapsburg and Bourbon dynasties.

From Washington Times • May 22, 2023

In each of the 65 episodes, a Frick curator offers insights on a work of art in the museum’s collection — a painting, sculpture or decorative art — as well as a related cocktail.

From New York Times • Oct. 21, 2022

“People have gotten more and more creative, and we have a lot more elaborate costumes and decorative art that people have built.”

From Seattle Times • Mar. 17, 2022

At present we must trace purely decorative art a little further.

From Custom and Myth New Edition by Lang, Andrew