Hankins moved to
Nashville, Tennessee, where he was taught painting by
Edwin M. Gardner, an art teacher and painter. 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, the founder of the
Confederate Veteran. He also painted a portrait of
Caroline Meriwether Goodlett, the founding president of the
United Daughters of the Confederacy. Additionally, he painted a portrait of Confederate General
Robert E. Lee for the
Tennessee General Assembly in 1901. He also painted 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 painted 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. According to the
Tennessee Encyclopedia of History and Culture, "At the time of his death, nine of his portraits were hanging in the
Tennessee State Capitol, six in the
Alabama State Capitol, two in the
Mississippi State Capitol, and one in the
Louisiana State Capitol." ==Personal life==