fine art

American  

[fahyn ahrt] / ˈfaɪn ˈɑrt /

noun

fine arts plural

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.

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fine art British  

noun

1. art produced chiefly for its aesthetic value, as opposed to applied art

2. Also called: beaux arts.  (often plural) any of the fields in which such art is produced, such as painting, sculpture, and engraving

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fine art Idioms  

1. 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]

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• fine arts
  plural

Etymology

Origin of fine art

First recorded in 1760–70

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

fine art

Play is the primary side dish at “7 Paintings,” a tech-infused dinner theater that aims to be a crash course in fine art.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 8, 2026

A fine art and news photographer for decades, Cooley, 51, is using pictures like the one he snapped of the tree as part of his new project, “In the Gardens of Eaton.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 24, 2026

On the earnings call, the intimates executive proved she has mastered the fine art of corporate brandspeak with lines like “underscoring the power of putting ourselves at the center of the cultural conversation.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 10, 2026

Baseman’s work melds the worlds of fine art and toymaking.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 12, 2026

Think of gold infused on silver by a craftsman, whose fine art Hephaistos taught him, or Athena: one whose work moves to delight: just so she lavished beauty over Odysseus’ head and shoulders.

From "The Odyssey" by Homer