Art terms
This glossary explains some of the techniques, mediums, art movements, and other terms you’ll encounter on our website, along with links to examples in the collection.
190 terms
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Abstract Expressionism
The dominant artistic movement in the 1940s and 1950s, Abstract Expressionism was the first to place New York City at the forefront of international modern
8 examples
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Abstraction
Non-representational works of art that do not depict scenes or objects in the world or have discernable subject matter.
4 examples
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Action painting
Art critic Harold Rosenberg coined the term “action painting” in 1952 to describe the work of artists who painted using bold gestures that engaged more
6 examples
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Actuality
A nonfiction film, usually lasting no more than one to two minutes, showing unedited, unstructured footage of real events, places, people, or things. Actualities,
0 examples
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Allover painting
An approach to painting that emerged with the Abstract Expressionists, in which each area of the composition is given equal attention and significance.
5 examples
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Ambrotype
A lightly exposed wet-plate glass negative that appears as a positive when placed on a black backing.
3 examples
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Aquatint
An intaglio printmaking technique that creates tonal areas. Its name reflects its watercolor-like effects. Powdered resin is sprinkled on a metal plate
5 examples
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Architectural fragment
An object formerly part of a built structure, intended to be part of a built structure, or representing a structural element of a building.
6 examples
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Architectural model
A presentation of an architectural concept in three-dimensional form. Can also refer to digital files representing the same.
6 examples
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Architecture
The science, art, or profession of designing and constructing buildings and other structures for use or habitation by humans; a building, or buildings
6 examples
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Arte Povera
A movement of young Italian artists who attempted to create a new sculptural language through the use of humble, everyday materials. Meaning “poor art,”
4 examples
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Artist’s book
A term referring to publications conceived, designed, and illustrated by artists, often self-published or published by arts organizations in large or unlimited
3 examples
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Arts and Crafts movement
Informal movement in design and architecture that championed the unity of the arts, the experience of the individual craftsperson, and the qualities of
6 examples
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Assemblage
A three-dimensional work of art made from combinations of materials including found objects or non-traditional art materials.
8 examples
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Audio
Sound as recorded, transmitted, or reproduced. Could include or refer to the use of noise and/or silence.
6 examples
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Automatism
Strategies of writing or creating art that aimed to access the unconscious mind. The Surrealists, in particular, experimented with automatist techniques
5 examples
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Avant-garde
French for “advanced guard,” originally used to denote the vanguard of an army and first applied to art in France in the early 19th century. In reference
7 examples
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Bauhaus
The school of art and design founded in Germany by Walter Gropius in 1919, and shut down by the Nazis in 1933. The faculty brought together artists, architects,
8 examples
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Ben-Day dots
An inexpensive mechanical printing method developed in the late 19th century and named after its inventor, illustrator and printer Benjamin Henry Day,
4 examples
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Biomorphic
Derived from the Greek words bios (life) and morphe (form), the term refers to abstract forms or images that evoke naturally occurring forms such as plants,
6 examples
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Black Maria
The world’s first film studio, developed in 1892–93 by American inventor Thomas Alva Edison and his assistant and protégé, William K. L. Dickson. Comprised
0 examples
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Black Mountain College
A small liberal arts college founded in 1933 by John Rice on a farm in Asheville, North Carolina, and continued under changing leadership until 1957. Courses
2 examples
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B movie
A low-budget movie, especially one made for use as a companion to the main attraction in a double feature.
0 examples
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Canvas
A closely woven, sturdy cloth of hemp, cotton, linen, or a similar fiber, frequently stretched over a frame and used as a surface for painting.
5 examples
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Cartes-de-visite
Small photographs mounted to cardstock, patented in 1854. These “visiting” cards, most often featuring individual or celebrity portraits, were popularly
2 examples
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Cast
(verb) To form a material, such as molten metal or plastic, into a particular shape by pouring or pressing into a mold; (noun) something formed in a mold;
6 examples
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Charcoal
Among the earliest known drawing materials, charcoal sticks are produced by burning vines or twigs of wood in an airless atmosphere. The black tonality
9 examples
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Chine collé
A technique, used in conjunction with printmaking processes such as etching or lithography, that results in a two-layered paper support: a tissue-thin
4 examples
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Choreography
The art of creating and arranging a wide range of dance, from classical ballet to experimental performance; a work created by this art. A person who creates
4 examples
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Chromogenic color print
The dominant photographic color process of the 20th century is made up of three gelatin layers containing cyan, magenta, and yellow organic dyes. Together,
6 examples
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Cinématographe
A combination motion-picture camera, printer, and projector invented by French photographers, photographic equipment manufacturers, and brothers Auguste
0 examples
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CoBrA
A European avant-garde movement active in the aftermath of World War II (from 1948 to 1951), whose name was derived from the first letters of the three
2 examples
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Collage
Derived from the French verb coller, meaning “to glue,” collage refers to both the technique and the resulting work of art in which fragments of paper
12 examples
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Collotype
A reproductive printmaking technique that is photographically based. Although collotype is increasingly rare, in the early 20th century it was employed
1 example
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Colored pencil
An implement for drawing that contains a rod of pigments or dyes, known as “colorants,” mixed with fillers (including kaolin, chalk, or talc), synthetic
5 examples
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Color Field painting
A form of abstract painting that emerged in the 1950s and 1960s, characterized by large areas of color, typically without strong tonal contrasts or a defined
4 examples
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Combine
Term coined by Jasper Johns to describe a body of work by Robert Rauschenberg consisting of three-dimensional objects integrated into paintings. Rauschenberg
3 examples
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Conceptual art
In the 1960s, many artists experimented with art that emphasized ideas over objects and materials traditionally associated with art making. In 1967, Sol
7 examples
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Constructivism
Developed by the Russian avant-garde at the time of the October Revolution of 1917. Declaring that a post-Revolutionary society demanded a radically new
6 examples
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Contact print
When light-sensitized paper is placed in direct contact with a negative and then exposed, the result is a contact print. A printing frame is often used
3 examples
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Critical Design
A term first used by Anthony Dunne in his book, Hertzian Tales (1999), referring to an attitude toward design rather than a movement or method. It follows
1 example
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Cubism
Originally a term of derision used by a critic in 1908, Cubism describes the work of Pablo Picasso, Georges Braque, and those influenced by them. Working
7 examples
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Dada
An artistic and literary movement formed in response to the disasters of World War I (1914–18) and to an emerging modern media and machine culture. Dada
7 examples
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Daguerreotype
One of the first practical photographic processes, publicly announced in 1839 and named for the French artist/inventor Louis Jacques Mande Daguerre. A
3 examples
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Decalcomania
A transfer technique, developed in the 18th century, in which ink, paint, or another medium is spread onto a surface and, while still wet, covered with
6 examples
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Degenerate art
The term adopted by the Nazi regime to describe works deemed to be “an insult to German feeling.” An exhibition of the same name opened in Munich in 1937,
5 examples
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Der Blaue Reiter (The Blue Rider)
Formed in 1911 in Munich as an association of painters and an exhibiting society led by Vasily Kandinsky and Franz Marc. Using a visual vocabulary of abstract
4 examples
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Design
This term is most commonly associated with graphics, furniture, lighting, and products, but also encompasses a wide variety of related practices, including
12 examples