fine. 1 In criminal law, sum of money exacted by a lawful tribunal as punishment for a crime. In the case of misdemeanors and minor infractions of the law, convicted persons ordinarily have the alternative of paying a fine or undergoing a short term of imprisonment. This practice has been condemned at times as potentially exposing the poor to more onerous punishment than the well-to-do. Fines are also sometimes imposed in convictions for felony, usually in addition to a prison sentence. The Eighth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States prohibits the imposition of excessive fines, but the Supreme Court has never found that any statutory fine violated that provision. 2 In the law of the transfer of land, a legal fiction for permitting the sale of lands in entail. The fine, first worked out in the 15th cent., is in the form of a suit to determine the ownership of land. The buyer sues the seller, who accedes to the buyer's claim that his right of ownership is superior. The judgment of the court to this effect constitutes the buyer's title. The fine was formerly widely used in England and the United States, but simplified methods of defeating the entail have made it obsolete. 3 In feudal law, payment to the lord for rights relating to tenancy, e.g., for the privilege of releasing to another or acquiring for oneself the tenancy of land.

Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Philadelphia, established in 1805, incorporated in 1806. It is supported by private endowment. The academy grew out of a proposal by Charles Willson Peale for an art institution; this led to the founding of the Columbianum, which mounted in 1795 the first art exhibition in the United States. The academy was formed to supersede it, sponsored by 71 public-spirited Philadelphia citizens, among them Peale, Charles Biddle, William Rush, and George Clymer. The present building was constructed in 1876 to house the academy's art collection, which includes the Temple Collection of modern American paintings, the Gibson Collection of 19th-century European paintings, and the John Frederick Lewis Collection of early American paintings. The academy, affiliated with the oldest American art school, owns more than 2,000 works by American artists, one of the richest collections in the field.

Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, chartered and incorporated (1870) after a decision by the Boston Athenaeum, Harvard, and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology to pool their collections of art objects and house them in adequate public galleries. The first building was opened in 1876; the present one, designed by Guy Lowell, in 1909. The museum is supported entirely by private contributions and endowments. Its collection of art from India is thought to be the finest in the United States. The museum's collections of Chinese and Japanese art are outstanding. The Egyptian wing, housing the Way Collection, includes Old Kingdom sculpture unrivaled except in Cairo. The painting galleries are notable for many examples of Spanish art and are particularly strong in works by American artists; 18th-century portraitists, especially Copley and Stuart, are magnificently represented. The museum owns many canvases by John Singer Sargent as well as his mural decorations in the rotunda. The silver work of Paul Revere is shown in quantities unequaled elsewhere. There is also a rich collection of graphic art.

Fine Gael, Irish political party. Formed in 1933, it was the successor of the party founded by William Cosgrave that held power from the creation of the Irish Free State in 1922 until ousted by the republican Fianna Fáil in 1932. The Fine Gael party accepted the British plan that partitioned Ireland, and has generally been less anti-British than its major opposition. Under John A. Costello, Fine Gael formed coalition governments with the Labour party from 1948 to 1951 and from 1954 to 1957. After a long period in opposition it regained power, again with the Labour party, in 1973; and William Cosgrave's son Liam Cosgrave became prime minister. Except for a brief interruption in 1982, the party held power again from 1981 to 1987, when it was led by Garret FitzGerald. From 1994 to 1997, Fine Gael once more formed a coalition government with Labour, with party leader John Bruton serving as prime minister. Michael Noonan succeeded Bruton as party leader in 2001. Noonan resigned after electoral losses in 2002 and was succeeded by Enda Kenny.

Boston Museum of Fine Arts: see Museum of Fine Arts, at Boston, Mass.

Fine Gael(Irish; “Gaelic Nation”)

Major political party in Ireland, also known as United Ireland Party. It was founded in 1933 in the amalgamation of several parties, including the Cumann na nGaedheal (“Society of Gaels”), which had been formed by members of the Dáil (assembly) who accepted the Anglo-Irish treaty of 1921. It held power briefly in 1948, but Fianna Fáil dominated Irish politics until 1973. From the mid-1970s, both Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil vied for power in competitive elections, with Fine Gael forming several coalition governments.

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