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.

fine art

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

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

The compilation accords dignity to the field and underscores the porous boundary between commercial and fine art.

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It was a cruel irony that these works, devised to be widely disseminated, barely sold: Most Spaniards preferred, Mr. Matilla writes, “devotional prints or those on popular themes” over fine art.

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Laid-back, smart, unfiltered and brutally funny as she takes on everything from chaotic family texts and Midwest quirks to aging parents, savage cats, and the fine art of having zero pride.

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Freymond, by contrast, was consumed with fine art and luxury, and fond of complex investments and financial transactions.

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Butchart conjures up a world where a tokenized securities portfolio could offer exposure to real-world assets — like a wind farm or a piece of fine art — to which gaining exposure was never possible previously.

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