Artist from Southern States (5)
I believe the answer is:
ernst
'artist' is the definition.
(max ernst)
'from southern states' is the wordplay.
'from' indicates a hidden word.
'ERNST' is hidden in the letters of 'southern states'.
(Other definitions for ernst that I've seen before include "artist's name" , "Young partner" , "He painted" , "Max -, twentieth century German Surrealist artist" , "German-born painter, Max, co-founder of dadaism, d. 1976" .)