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

“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

Up first is an exhibition devoted to the Fielding Collection, featuring more than 200 works of 18th and early 19th century American art, including paintings, furnishings and decorative art.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 23, 2017

Gold is not a material of mere decorative art.

From New York Times • Dec. 22, 2016

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

From Custom and Myth New Edition by Lang, Andrew