American on canvas heard "Fury, by knockout" (6)

I believe the answer is:

rothko

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'american on canvas' is the definition.
The definition suggests a singular noun which matches the answer.

'heard fury by knockout' is the wordplay.
'heard fury by' becomes 'roth' (I can't justify this - if you can you should believe this answer much more).
'knockout' becomes 'ko' (abbreviation).
'roth'+'ko'='ROTHKO'

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(Other definitions for rothko that I've seen before include "US abstract expressionist" , "Mark --, US artist" , "Mark --, US abstract painter" , "Sudden violent release" .)

I've seen this clue in The Independent.

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