The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 8 letter word MAGRITTE
I've seen this crossword clue in The Guardian
M
A
G
R
I
T
T
E
More clues leading to the result MAGRITTE
- Famous Belgian showing determination in match
- Painter depicting courage and determination in friend
- Surrealist friend conceals tough character
- Artist met tragic end out dancing
- Artist’s determination to have friend around
- Artist‘s friend retains determination
- He painted balls used during match
- He painted male garbed at first in orderly attire
- Artist making final move on board grabbing bottle
- Partner carrying bottle for artist
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "Artist" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case artist = magritte.The cryptic/wordplay part
In cryptic crossword there's often an wordplay/cryptic part as well.This part involves a more complex hint, such as an anagram, homophone, hidden word, etc.
Sadly, We don't have an explanation for this specific crossword clue yet.