James S. Rollins - Friendship With George Caleb Bingham

Friendship With George Caleb Bingham

Among his many acquaintances, Rollins had a lifelong friendship with artist and politician George Caleb Bingham. Bingham painted numerous portraits of Rollins family members, including several of Rollins himself. Rollins gave Bingham a boost early in his career by getting several people in Columbia to have him paint their portraits. He later helped Bingham get a commission to do portraits of Thomas Jefferson and George Washington for the Missouri State Capitol, and he helped finance printings of Bingham’s General Order No. 11. Late in Bingham’s life, Rollins helped him get a position as the University of Missouri’s first art professor.

Rollins and Bingham named sons after each other. Bingham frequently visited the Rollins home, sometimes staying for a month at a time. The two maintained a frequent correspondence for over forty-five years, until Bingham’s death, in which they discussed a variety of personal, social, and political issues.