Some admired a lively artist (4)
I believe the answer is:
dali
'artist' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)
'some admired a lively' is the wordplay.
'some' says the answer is hidden in the clue (some of the parts of the word are used).
'DALI' can be found hidden inside 'admired a lively'.
(Other definitions for dali that I've seen before include "Salvador --, twentieth century Spanish surrealist painter" , "Tree" , "Salvador . . . . was great Spanish surrealist painter" , "Surrealist Spanish painter, d. 1989" , "Salvador -, twentieth century artist" .)