Art Glossary: Acrylic

Answer 1

Definition:

A type of paint made with synthetic resin as the medium (liquid) to bind the pigment (color), rather than natural oils such as linseed used in oil paints. It has the advantage of drying faster than oil paint and being water soluble.

The first acrylics were produced in the 1920s and 1930s in Germany, with acrylic paints specifically produced for fine artists emerging in the 1950s. One of the first "big name artists" to use acrylics was David Hockney.