Portrait of Leonidas Polk by Cornelius Hankins

Cornelius Hankins (1863-1946) was an American painter. He painted agrarian landscapes of

Tennessee Tennessee (, ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Kentucky to the north, Virginia to the northeast, North Carolina t ...

and portraits of

Confederate A confederation (also known as a confederacy or league) is a political union of sovereign states united for purposes of common action. Usually created by a treaty, confederations of states tend to be established for dealing with critical issu ...

veterans and politicians.

Early life

Cornelius Hankins was born on July 12, 1863, in

Itawamba County, Mississippi Itawamba County is a county located in the U.S. state of Mississippi. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 23,863. Its county seat is Fulton. The county is part of the Tupelo, MS Micropolitan Statistical Area. The county ...

. His father was Edward Locke Hankins and his mother, Annie Mary McFadden.

Career

Hankins moved to

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville, often known as Music City, is the capital and List of municipalities in Tennessee, most populous city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County in Middle Tennessee, locat ...

, where he was taught painting by

Edwin M. Gardner Edwin M. Gardner (1845–1935) was an American Confederate veteran and painter. Early life Gardner was born on October 12, 1845, in Giles County, Tennessee. He grew up in Mississippi. During the American Civil War of 1861–1865, he served in the ...

, an art teacher and painter. By 1897, he taught at the

Richmond Art Club Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, California, a city in the United States * Richmond, London, a town in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, England * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town ...

Richmond, Virginia Richmond ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), U.S. commonwealth of Virginia. Incorporated in 1742, Richmond has been an independent city (United States), independent city since 1871. ...

. Meanwhile, he began exhibiting his work. By March 1902, his paintings were exhibited at the University Club in Nashville. A decade later, in November 1912, they were exhibited at the Centennial Club. Hankins painted a portrait of

Sumner Archibald Cunningham Sumner Archibald Cunningham (July 21, 1843 – December 20, 1913) was an American Confederate soldier and journalist. He was the editor of a short lived Confederate magazine called "Our Day" (1883-1884) published in New York. In 1893 he establish ...

, the founder of the ''

Confederate Veteran The ''Confederate Veteran'' was a magazine about veterans of the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War of 1861–1865. It published histories of the Civil War with a focus on Confederate events. It also propagated a myth of the Lo ...

''. He also painted a portrait of

Caroline Meriwether Goodlett Caroline Douglas Meriwether Goodlett (November 3, 1833 – October 16, 1914) was an American philanthropist and the founding president general of the United Daughters of the Confederacy. Early life and family Goodlett was born on November 3, ...

, the founding president of the

United Daughters of the Confederacy The United Daughters of the Confederacy (UDC) is an American neo-Confederate hereditary association for female descendants of Confederate Civil War soldiers engaging in the commemoration of these ancestors, the funding of monuments to them, a ...

. Additionally, he painted a portrait of Confederate General

Robert E. Lee Robert Edward Lee (January 19, 1807 – October 12, 1870) was a general officers in the Confederate States Army, Confederate general during the American Civil War, who was appointed the General in Chief of the Armies of the Confederate ...

for the

Tennessee General Assembly The Tennessee General Assembly (TNGA) is the state legislature (United States), state legislature of the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is a part-time bicameral legislature consisting of a Tennessee Senate, Senate and a Tennessee House of Representa ...

in 1901. He also did 15 portraits for the Shelby County Courthouse in

Memphis, Tennessee Memphis is a city in Shelby County, Tennessee, United States, and its county seat. Situated along the Mississippi River, it had a population of 633,104 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of municipalities in Tenne ...

. He went on to do portraits of Confederate General

Nathan Bedford Forrest Nathan Bedford Forrest (July 13, 1821October 29, 1877) was an List of slave traders of the United States, American slave trader, active in the lower Mississippi River valley, who served as a General officers in the Confederate States Army, Con ...

, Admiral

Albert Gleaves Albert Gleaves (January 1, 1858 – January 6, 1937) was a decorated admiral in the United States Navy, also notable as a naval historian. Biography Born in Nashville, Tennessee, Gleaves graduated from the United States Naval Academy in 1877. Af ...

, Senator

William B. Bate William Brimage Bate (October 7, 1826March 9, 1905) was a planter and slaveholder, Confederate officer, and politician in Tennessee. After the Reconstruction era, he served as the 23rd governor of Tennessee from 1883 to 1887. He was elected to th ...

, Governor Albert H. Roberts and Governor

Benton McMillin Benton McMillin (September 11, 1845 – January 8, 1933) was an American politician and diplomat. He served as the 27th governor of Tennessee from 1899 to 1903 and represented Tennessee's 4th district in the United States House of Representative ...

. Some of Hankins's portraits were donated by Confederate veteran or university alumni groups to public and private institutions. For example, Hankins painted a portrait of Confederate General Benjamin F. Cheatham for the Frank Cheatham Bivouac of the

Association of Confederate Soldiers The Association of Confederate Soldiers (Tennessee Division) was an organization formed by veterans of the American Civil War in 1887, and helped to form the United Confederate Veterans in 1889. Dr. Joseph Jones served as the association's surgeo ...

, who unveiled it in the Tennessee State Chamber and placed it in the

Tennessee State Library The Tennessee State Library and Archives (TSLA), established in 1854, currently operates as a unit of the Tennessee Department of State. According to the Tennessee Blue Book, the Library and Archives "collects and preserves books and records of h ...

in 1904. He also painted a portrait of Julia A. Sears, a founding faculty member of the

Peabody College for Teachers Vanderbilt Peabody College of Education and Human Development (also known as Vanderbilt Peabody College, Peabody College, or simply Peabody) is the education school of Vanderbilt University, a private research university in Nashville, Tennessee. ...

(now part of

Vanderbilt University Vanderbilt University (informally Vandy or VU) is a private university, private research university in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. Founded in 1873, it was named in honor of shipping and railroad magnate Cornelius Vanderbilt, who provide ...

), which was placed in the chapel in 1904. Additionally, Hankins painted a portrait of

William Lofland Dudley William Lofland Dudley (April 16, 1859 – September 8, 1914) was an American chemistry professor at both the University of Cincinnati and Vanderbilt University and an athletics pioneer during the Progressive Era. At Vanderbilt, he was appoint ...

, the founding dean of the

Vanderbilt University School of Medicine Vanderbilt University School of Medicine (VUSM) is the graduate medical school of Vanderbilt University, a private research university located in Nashville, Tennessee. The School of Medicine is primarily housed within the Eskind Biomedical Libra ...

; it was donated by local alumni to Vanderbilt University in 1915. According to the

Tennessee Encyclopedia of History and Culture ''Tennessee Encyclopedia'' is a reference book on the U.S. state of Tennessee that was published in book form in 1998 and has also been available online since 2002. Contents include history, geography, culture, and biography. History The origina ...

, "At the time of his death, nine of his portraits were hanging in the

Tennessee State Capitol The Tennessee State Capitol, located in Nashville, Tennessee, is the seat of government for the U.S. state of Tennessee. It serves as the home of both houses of the Tennessee General Assembly–the Tennessee House of Representatives and the Tenn ...

, six in the

Alabama State Capitol The Alabama State Capitol, listed on the National Register of Historic Places as the First Confederate Capitol, is the state capitol building for Alabama. Located on Capitol Hill, originally Goat Hill, in Montgomery, it was declared a National ...

, two in the

Mississippi State Capitol The Mississippi State Capitol or the “New Capitol,” has been the seat of the state’s government since it succeeded the old Mississippi State House in 1903. Located in the centrally-located state capital / capital city of Jackson, in H ...

, and one in the

Louisiana State Capitol The Louisiana State Capitol () is the seat of government for the U.S. state of Louisiana and is located in downtown Baton Rouge. The capitol houses the chambers for the Louisiana State Legislature, made up of the House of Representatives and the ...

Personal life

Hankins married Maude McGehee. They had two daughters, Eleanor Hankins, known professionally as Hank Fort, who became a renowned singer, and Dorothy Churchill Hankins Wood.

Death

Hankins died on May 12, 1946, in Nashville, Tennessee. He was buried at the Mount Olivet Cemetery.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hankins, Cornelius 1863 births 1946 deaths People from Itawamba County, Mississippi Artists from Nashville, Tennessee Painters from Tennessee American portrait painters American landscape painters Painters from Mississippi 19th-century American painters 20th-century American painters American male painters 19th-century American male artists 20th-century American male artists