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And it's a good question. I can think of one example. Norman Rockwell would always correct people if they referred to him as an "artist". He was an "illustrator". And a very great one. But his work was just that, "work", a masterful mechanical exercise that he could repeat over and over. Art is something that's harder to define. Some time back I got into an argument here over the "art" of Jackson Pollack. Thinking back the guy who defended him as a great artist probably had a point. He was certainly no "craftsman".

Another acting example, in my opinion, would be Lawrence Olivier, the labeled "greatest actor of his generation". He could play almost any part, with any accent, and modulate his voice to achieve any effect. But it never seemed like he "became" the role and you'd be watching in conscious awe of his performance, not lulled into believing in the character. But he had to work tirelessly on that effect and even to remember his lines. So in my opinion he was the greatest at the craft of acting but not necessarily in the "art" that to some actors just seems to come so naturally.

With Streep you can also see all the wires and gears moving and you never quite forget that you're seeing a performance. Nothing wrong with it at all, but it's superbly developed craft, not necessarily art. And all that's completely unrelated to the fact that like so many of her colleagues she's an ignorant elitist Leftist b**** who no one in their right mind should take seriously when she spouts politics.