With the artist in spirit (6)
I believe the answer is:
wraith
'spirit' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)
'with the artist in' is the wordplay.
'the artist' becomes 'ra' (Royal Academician, member of Royal Academy of Arts).
'in' indicates putting letters inside.
'with' enclosing 'ra' is 'WRAITH'.
(Other definitions for wraith that I've seen before include "Ghost-like apparition" , "Ghost, spectral apparition" , "'Ghost, spectre (6)'" , "Wrath I directed at spirit" , "Ghost or spectral appartition" .)