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

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

Qualified arts programs would include: dance, theater, music, folk art, creative writing, painting, sculpture, photography, design, graphic arts, computer coding, animation, costume design, film and video.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 2, 2021

“Midtown is now where the law firms, architectural firms and graphic arts firms have relocated.”

From Washington Post ● Sep. 13, 2021

The graphic arts form a special case of their own.

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