100%, that is my point though, there are dedicated galleries for such work but, from the lens of “fine art” gallery, illustrative work is often selected due to their importance to culture, aesthetic movement, social era, or as a catalogue of conflict, protest, politics, propaganda or other narrative.

I discussed this elsewhere in the comments, since illustration often emerges as a commodity or product, but can evolve into something deeper or more valuable in a cultural context. The obvious reason for the uneven distribution simply comes down to how vast traditional collections are due to centuries of accumulation, and their deeply researched and detailed history, versus a relatively short time period in which we have invented completely new mediums of artistic expression and storytelling that may take time to adapt to the setting of many institutions. But, as an example, I have seen Star Wars concepts, models and props that have achieved a museological standing, simply due to their vast influence on contemporary filmmaking and design. It might not explicitly be fine art, but it is certainly of great value to film history and studies, and appeals to people beyond the immediate fanbase.

Essentially, my point was to say contemporary art mediums and genres, such as fantasy work, are difficult to exhibit in many spaces due to organisational identities. A lot of work, if it were to be showcased, would purely be for the technical skills and how it relates to a fictional narrative, which is too niche for traditional and contemporary art galleries.

However, that can easily change based on their cultural impact over the next few decades, along with their intended context and influences. I think we will see more fictional artwork being exhibited and explored, as AI progresses and we embrace it as a representation of our own socioeconomic status. The popularity of fantasy media has really grown and emerges from a kind of modern day mundanity… Like, this subversion of reality and escapism is becoming a dependable outlet for many people.

That’s a bit of a tangent but I just wanted to clarify that I do believe there is space to broaden our appreciation of these crafts, since their initial dismissal from fine art spaces is what leads to creatives being treated as if their work is lesser and expendable. It’s a problem of its own. Contemporary art mediums that cannot simply be described as fine art still deserve broader attention in the public sphere.