artist
artists
An artist is someone whose life's work — or passionate hobby — focuses on some creative enterprise. If you love to paint portraits of your dog, you are an artist.
People who make films, write short stories, or build beautiful dollhouses are all artists. Doing anything that involves creativity and imagination, especially if it yields some finished project, is being an artist. Sometimes people use the word for someone who's great at what she does, or who uses extra flair or originality: "That barista is a total artist — look, she made my latte foam look like a hedgehog!" The Latin root is ars, or "art."
Definitions of artist
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a person whose creative work shows sensitivity and imagination
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synonyms:
creative person
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examples:
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Hans Arp
Alsatian artist and poet who was cofounder of dadaism in Zurich; noted for abstract organic sculptures (1887-1966)
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John James Audubon
United States ornithologist and artist (born in Haiti) noted for his paintings of birds of America (1785-1851)
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Marcel Duchamp
French artist who immigrated to the United States; a leader in the dada movement in New York City; was first to exhibit commonplace objects as art (1887-1968)
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Al Hirschfeld
United States artist noted for his line-drawn caricatures (1904-2003)
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Jasper Johns
United States artist and proponent of pop art (born in 1930)
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Edward Lear
British artist and writer of nonsense verse (1812-1888)
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Louis Comfort Tiffany
United States artist who developed Tiffany glass (1848-1933)
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types:
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illustrator
an artist who makes illustrations (for books or magazines or advertisements etc.)
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classic
an artist who has created classic works
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classicist
an artistic person who adheres to classicism
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constructivist
an artist of the school of constructivism
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decorator, ornamentalist
someone who decorates
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draftsman, drawer
an artist skilled at drawing
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etcher
someone who etches
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expressionist
an artist who is an adherent of expressionism
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maestro, master
an artist of consummate skill
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minimalist
a practitioner or advocate of artistic minimalism
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modernist
an artist who makes a deliberate break with previous styles
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musician
artist who composes or conducts music as a profession
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painter
an artist who paints
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lensman, photographer
someone who takes photographs professionally
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Pre-Raphaelite
a painter or writer dedicated to restoring early Renaissance ideals
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graphic artist, printmaker
an artist who designs and makes prints
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pyrographer
an artist who practices pyrography
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romantic, romanticist
an artist of the Romantic Movement or someone influenced by Romanticism
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carver, sculptor, sculpturer, statue maker
an artist who creates sculptures
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stylist
an artist who is a master of a particular style
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surrealist
an artist who is a member of the movement called surrealism
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symbolist
a member of an artistic movement that expressed ideas indirectly via symbols
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Indiana, Robert Indiana
United States pop artist (born 1928)
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abstract artist, abstractionist
a painter of abstract pictures
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adapter, arranger, transcriber
a musician who adapts a composition for particular voices or instruments or for another style of performance
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camera operator, cameraman, cinematographer
a photographer who operates a movie camera
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cartoonist
a person who draws cartoons
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cantor, choirmaster, precentor
the musical director of a choir
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colorist
a painter able to achieve special effects with color
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commercial artist
an illustrator who is supported by advertising
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composer
someone who composes music as a profession
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conductor, director, music director
the person who leads a musical group
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cubist
an artist who adheres to the principles of cubism
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dauber
an unskilled painter
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distortionist
a painter who introduces distortions
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engraver
a printmaker who prints from an engraved printing plate
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Fauve, fauvist
a member of a group of French painters who followed fauvism
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genre painter
a painter of scenes from everyday life
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impressionist
a painter who follows the theories of Impressionism
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landscapist
someone who paints landscapes
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lithographer
a printmaker who uses lithography
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miniaturist
someone who paints tiny pictures in great detail
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muralist
a painter of murals
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oil painter
a painter who uses oil paints
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old master
a great European painter prior to 19th century
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paparazzo
a freelance photographer who pursues celebrities trying to take candid photographs of them to sell to newspapers or magazines
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pavement artist
someone who draws on the pavement with colored chalks (hoping that passers-by will give them money)
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pointillist
a painter who uses the technique of pointillism
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limner, portrait painter, portraitist, portrayer
a painter or drawer of portraits
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Post-impressionist, Postimpressionist
an artist of the Postimpressionist school who revolted against Impressionism
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press photographer
a photographer who works for a newspaper
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realist
a painter who represents the world realistically and not in an idealized or romantic style
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scene painter, scenic artist
an artist specializing in scenic subjects
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sculptress
a woman sculptor
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sketcher
someone who draws sketches
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virtuoso
a musician who is a consummate master of technique and artistry
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watercolorist, watercolourist
a painter who paints with watercolors
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type of:
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creator
a person who grows or makes or invents things
DISCLAIMER: These example sentences appear in various news sources and books to reflect the usage of the word ‘artist'.
Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Vocabulary.com or its editors.
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