In the lives of historical figures, a single event, action, belief, or product is often taken as being emblematic of the entire individual. Napoleon was defeated at Waterloo, Marie Curie developed the theory of radioactivity, and – my personal favorite from years of rote memorization in American history courses – Eli Whitney invented the cotton gin. Entire lives are crunched down into easily-remembered factoids that typically obscure more than they illuminate. The legacy of Benjamin Waterhouse Hawkins – arguably the first great paleo-artist – has suffered the same fate.
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