Artist places boy behind bird (6)
I believe the answer is:
titian
'artist' is the definition.
(16th-century painter)
'boy behind bird' is the wordplay.
'boy' becomes 'ian' (man's name).
'behind' says to put letters next to each other.
'bird' becomes 'tit' (tit is a kind of bird).
'ian' after 'tit' is 'TITIAN'.
'places' is the link.
This may not be correct. It may belong to another bit of the clue.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for titian that I've seen before include "The painter Tiziano Vecellio" , "Painter; red tint" , "It. painter, famous for redheads" , "(Of hair) bright golden auburn; painter" , "Venetian artist" .)