The old man, artist losing home (5)
I believe the answer is:
pater
'the old man' is the definition.
('pater' can be a synonym of 'old man')
'artist losing home' is the wordplay.
'artist' becomes 'painter' (painter is a kind of artist).
'losing' is a deletion indicator.
'home' becomes 'in' ('he's home' can mean 'he's in').
'painter' with 'in' removed is 'PATER'.
(Other definitions for pater that I've seen before include "Our Father - . . . . . Noster" , "Taper away like father" , "Dad (Latin)" , "Walter --, English essayist; father" , "Old man" .)