| CHRISTO | 20th- and 21st-century artist known by his first name |
| EMERIL | Chef known by his first name |
| HENRIMATISSE | 20th-century artist known for "The Dance": 2 wds. |
| SALVADORDALI | 20th-century artist known for "The Persistence of Memory": 2 wds. |
| PABLOPICASSO | 20th-century artist known for "Guernica": 2 wds. |
| CREEP | The year 2025 is upon us, and the 20th and 25th letters of the alphabet are T and Y, so our theme today is celebs with the initials TY. First up: Radiohead hit sung by Thom Yorke |
| BROWNE | Hablot Knight ___, artist known by the pen name Phiz, who illustrated books by Charles Dickens (6) |
| ERTE | Artist known by the French pronunciation of his initials |
| ELGRECO | Spanish artist known by a nickname |
| BEE | Stinging pollinating insect with a World Day on May 20th... and a clue to solve 22a 26a 37a 55a and 43d |
| ISLA | Scottish name, in 2010 the fifth most popular for baby girls in Scotland and 21st in New Zealand (4) |
| STS | 10th, 20th and 30th in NYC |
| ABOLITION | Goal of some activists in the 19th and 21st centuries |
| OBSTRUCTIONOFJUSTICE | Illegal interference ... or what can be found in this puzzle's 1st, 3rd, 7th, 15th, 19th and 21st rows? |
| MICHELANGELO | Italian Renaissance artist known primarily by his first name |
| USHER | This singer goes by his first name, his full name being - Raymond IV (5) |
| LARRIVEE | Surname of the Canadian celebrity chef known simply by his first name Ricardo |
| JONAHHILL | Moneyball Oscar nominee who goes by his first and middle names; his sister, actress Beanie Feldstein, kept the family name |
| TOBYKEITH | This recently deceased country star went by his first and middle names, dropping his surname Covel |
| BYSSHE | Poet's name used by his first lady (6) |
