Abstract The term "serious art" is often used to describe various artworks, but a unified term is not extant. Prominent conceptualizations of the term by John Passmore, Catherine Lord, and Edward Sankowski are considered in the formation of a, integrative definition of serious art, which centers on quality of craftsmanship and the artwork’s potentials to inspire reevaluation on personal, communal, and cultural levels. Also discussed is the role of context in the development and evaluation of serious art, particularly whether art is a response to freedom or to constraint. Utilizing this essay’s definition of serious art, I contend that serious art is created and considered in relation to repression or trauma, phenomena that are arguably experienced by all individuals regardless of overt, overarching constraints. Further, developing and experiencing serious art must also be considered liberative processes. The current conceptualization of serious art is limited by the complete absence of folk crafts and the inclusion of only few types of art in academic discussions about serious art