Hunt maybe led by artist and explorer (7)
I believe the answer is:
raleigh
'explorer' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)
'hunt maybe led by artist' is the wordplay.
'hunt maybe' becomes 'leigh' (poet Leigh Hunt ).
'led by' means one lot of letters go next to another.
'artist' becomes 'ra' (Royal Academician, member of Royal Academy of Arts).
'leigh' put after 'ra' is 'RALEIGH'.
'and' acts as a link.
(Other definitions for raleigh that I've seen before include "SECOND PART OF 12 ACROSS" , "Did he fetch tobacco" , "Queen's favourite" , "Elizabethan sea-dog" , "English explorer" .)