What is fine art?

Fine art is art made primarily to be experienced — for beauty, meaning or expression — rather than to serve a practical function. Painting, sculpture, drawing and printmaking are its historic core; photography, installation and digital work joined later.

The line between fine and applied art has always been political as much as practical: the "fine" label was invented in the 18th century to separate gallery arts from craft — a separation most artists today happily ignore.