Cornelius Hankins | |
---|---|
Born |
Cornelius Haley Hankins July 12, 1863 Itawamba County, Mississippi, U.S. |
Died | May 12, 1946 Nashville, Tennessee, U.S. |
Resting place | Mount Olivet Cemetery |
Occupation | Painter |
Spouse(s) | Maude McGehee |
Children | Hank Fort |
Parent(s) | Edward Locke Hankins Annie Mary McFadden |
Cornelius Hankins (1863-1946) was an American painter. He painted agrarian landscapes of Tennessee and portraits of Confederate veterans and politicians.
Cornelius Hankins was born on July 12, 1863 in Itawamba County, Mississippi. His father was Edward Locke Hankins and his mother, Annie Mary McFadden.
Hankins moved to Nashville, Tennessee, where he was taught painting by Edwin M. Gardner, an art teacher and painter. By 1897, he taught at the Richmond Art Club in Richmond, Virginia. Meanwhile, he began exhibiting his work. By March 1902, his paintings were exhibited at the University Club in March 1902. A decade later, in November 1912, they were exhibited at the Centennial Club.
Hankins painted a portrait of Sumner Archibald Cunningham, the founder of the Confederate Veteran. He also did a portrait of Caroline Meriwether Goodlett, the founding president of the United Daughters of the Confederacy. Additionally, he did a portrait of Confederate General Robert E. Lee for the Tennessee General Assembly in 1901. He also did 15 portraits for the Shelby County Courthouse in Memphis, Tennessee. He went on to do portraits of Confederate General Nathan Bedford Forrest, Admiral Albert Gleaves, Senator William B. Bate, Governor Albert H. Roberts and Governor Benton McMillin.
Some of Hankins's portraits were donated by Confederate veteran or university alumni groups to public and private institutions. For example, Hankins did a portrait of Confederate General Benjamin F. Cheatham for the Frank Cheatham Bivouac of the Association of Confederate Soldiers, who unveiled it in the Tennessee State Chamber and placed it in the Tennessee State Library in 1904. He also did a portrait of Julia A. Sears, a founding faculty member of the Peabody College for Teachers (now part of Vanderbilt University), which was placed in the chapel in 1904. Additionally, Hankins did a portrait of William Lofland Dudley, the founding dean of the Vanderbilt University School of Medicine; it was donated by local alumni to Vanderbilt University in 1915.