American Artist. Hankins was home tutored due to a case of smallpox which left him deaf till the age of eight. He studied art in Nashville under Edwin M. Gardner, in St. Louis with Robert Henri a leader of the Ashcan School and later with William Merritt Chase in New York. Hankins spent time in Europe to supplement his training. He taught at Miss Clark’s Select School for Girls in Rutherford County, TN, and in the 1890’s spent some time in Richmond working and teaching. It was in Richmond that he was commissioned to paint a series of portraits representing twelve Confederate Generals and in 1901 the Tennessee General Assembly selected him to paint a portrait of Robert E. Lee. In addition, he painted portraits of Jefferson Davis, Nathan Bedford Forrest and B. Frank Cheatham which were all purchased by the State of Tennessee and housed in the Tennessee State Library.  He married Sophia Maude McGehee, a fellow artist and poet, at Grace Episcopal Church on October 20, 1897, in Richmond, Virginia. Hankins produced beautiful still-life and landscape paintings which are sought after today but it was his portrait painting, more than a thousand to his name, that earned him financial success and recognition. His works can be found in many state capitol buildings, museums, archives and private collections across the United States.     (bio by: Mary & Kent)  Family links:  Parents:  Edward Locke Hankins (1823 – 1900)  Mary Jane McFadden Hankins (1827 – 1892)  Spouse:  Sophia Maude McGehee Hankins (1876 – 1968)  Children:  Hank Fort (1914 – 1973)*  Sibling:  Dora Ellen Hankins Faulkner (1857 – 1938)*  Cornelius Haley Hankins (1863 – 1946) *Calculated relationship