folk art

American  

noun

1. artistic works, as paintings, sculpture, basketry, and utensils, produced typically in cultural isolation by untrained often anonymous artists or by artisans of varying degrees of skill and marked by such attributes as highly decorative design, bright bold colors, flattened perspective, strong forms in simple arrangements, and immediacy of meaning.

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folk art British  

noun

1. the visual arts, music, drama, dance, or literature originating from, or traditional to, the common people of a country

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Other Word Forms

• folkartist
  noun
• folk-art
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of folk art

First recorded in 1920–25

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

folk art

Early artistic attempts were largely derivative of European art; Native American and folk art weren’t taken seriously until recent decades, and decorative objects were deemed “industrial arts” for a long time.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 5, 2026

The London-based Canadian-Korean artist has created cloth patchwork paintings using the bojagi technique - resulting in stained glass-style pictures showing scenes inspired by Korean folk art and ocean creatures.

From BBC ● Sep. 26, 2025

Minhwa is a style of Korean folk art popular during the Chosun era, with the Hojak-do genre specializing in images of tigers, magpies and pine trees.

From Salon ● Jul. 2, 2025

Above us were giant papier-mâché heads of alebrijes — colorful Mexican folk art figurines — used at LA Librería’s recent appearance at the L.A.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 15, 2024

Ultimately, it led to the establishment of ethnic studies departments where courses were offered in such fields as nineteenth-century black history and Hispanic-American folk art.

From "Hunger of Memory" by Richard Rodriguez