Artist gave off ruin (6)
I believe the answer is:
ravage
'ruin' is the definition.
(I know that ruin is a more specific form of ravage)
'artist gave off' is the wordplay.
'artist' becomes 'RA' (Royal Academician, member of Royal Academy of Arts).
'off' is an anagram indicator.
'gave' with letters rearranged gives 'vage'.
'ra'+'vage'='RAVAGE'
(Other definitions for ravage that I've seen before include "Wreak havoc upon" , "Devastation" , "Greatly damage, destroy" , "Lay waste, plunder" , "Cause extensive destruction" .)