Artist's work always rejected (4)
I believe the answer is:
goya
'artist's' is the definition.
(Francisco Goya)
'work always rejected' is the wordplay.
'work' becomes 'go' (synonyms).
'always' becomes 'ay' (archaic term for 'always').
'rejected' is a reversal indicator.
'ay' in reverse letter order is 'ya'.
'go'+'ya'='GOYA'
(Other definitions for goya that I've seen before include "Francisco de ---- (1746-1828), Spanish painter of portraits" , "his etchings?" , "Eighteenth and nineteenth century Spanish painter" , "European painter" , "Old master" .)