graphic arts

American  

plural noun

1. Also called graphics.  the arts or techniques, as engraving, etching, drypoint, woodcut, lithography, and other methods, by which copies of an original design are printed from a plate, block, or the like.

2. the arts of drawing, painting, and printmaking.

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graphic arts British  

plural noun

1. any of the fine or applied visual arts based on drawing or the use of line, as opposed to colour or relief, on a plane surface, esp illustration and printmaking of all kinds

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Etymology

Origin of graphic arts

First recorded in 1660–70

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

graphic arts

The show is curated by Claudine Grammont, head of the graphic arts department at Paris’s Musée National d’Art Moderne in the Centre Pompidou, where a multiyear renovation has freed up the museum’s vast Matisse holdings.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 6, 2026

“My friends thought I was a spreadsheet nerd,” said the investigator, who worked as an office manager and in graphic arts before joining Tripadvisor 19 years ago.

From New York Times ● Jan. 25, 2023

At the university, he worked as a graphic arts and media intern for the athletic department, his family said.

From Seattle Times ● Nov. 7, 2021

Mike Howard started selling masks from his screen-printing and graphic arts shop, Brandall, as a way to recoup some of the money he’s lost this year.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 25, 2020

For that reason, our discussion is merged with an introduction to four major arts: graphic arts, painting, sculpture, and architecture.

From "History of Art, Volume 1" by H.W. Janson