folk art

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.

folk art

noun

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

Other Words From

• folk-art adjective
• folkartist noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of folk art¹

First recorded in 1920–25

Example Sentences

These are ventures — often one-person crusades — that celebrate fast food, Finnish folk art, Skid Row, skateboarding, vertebrate zoology and more.

From Los Angeles Times

Time was when such work would have been siloed in collections of “Outsider Art” or folk art.

From New York Times

“Pure folk art,” he calls the kind of music he’s drawn to.

From Los Angeles Times

Xiyadie’s home province of Shanxi was a hub for folk art; in his hometown, paper cuts marked births, weddings and Lunar New Year celebrations.

From New York Times

They lived together in a New York City loft filled with Mr. Wagoner’s collection of American folk art and antiques.

From New York Times