In their book, Art as Therapy, Alain De Botton and John Armstrong identify seven functions of art:

Appreciation

Art helps us to revisit the value of ordinary things like the pretty colors in a splash of morning light on a tablecloth or the nostalgic aspects of old beer cans. Art embraces appreciation.

Growth

When we see a picture of something we haven’t personally experienced or of an emotion that we don’t have a personal context for, we can take the time to think about it, react to it and empathize with. Art promotes growth.

Self-Understanding

Art helps to complete our own unformed thoughts and ideas. We have an “aha” moment when we see a piece of art that perfectly captures a feeling or thought we have had that we couldn’t express.

Re-balancing

Our day to day lives influence the balance our emotional make up. We gain balance through art by taking a moment to observe, judge, and appreciate things we don’t normally see and our response to them.

Memory

Art focuses in on the essence of the scene rather than the whole of it. It homes in on what is most memorable from the scene the artist was viewing. Art records and preserves emotion.

Hopes

Art can move us to tears. Beautiful art can bring tears of joy. Experiencing such heart-warming feelings about it encourages us to hope for the same thing for ourselves.

Sorrow

Art doesn’t just increase our capacity for joy. It validates our sorrows. Art provides a different perspective or “vantage point from which to survey” our own sadness, and find a way to deal with it.