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Johns Hopkins honors the late Elijah Cummings with portrait

Posted at 5:32 PM, Jan 20, 2022
and last updated 2022-01-20 17:32:45-05

BALTIMORE — Through the fight for civil rights and his work in the house, Elijah Cummings was one of Baltimore's greatest leaders.

Now, his legacy is being honored through art.

Today, Johns Hopkins unveiled this portrait of Cummings, which will hang in the university's Homewood campus.

The portrait is part of a university-wide effort to recognize leaders who helped change the world around us.

Christopher Batten, a local artist was behind the piece.

He says he used Cummings' speeches to try and paint a picture of his immense legacy.

He hopes that gives viewers of his work a certain feeling.

"I want them to feel inspired, and for them to reach within themselves to discover the ways that they can positively impact the community, the city and the nation just like Mr. Cummings did," said Batten.

Cummings and Edith Windsor, another civil rights icon were chosen as the first portraits for the Hopkins program.

The Cummings portrait is set to be formally installed at the University’s Milton S. Eisenhower library in April.