He soon moved to France and later took French nationality. He attended the Académie Julian in Paris. Hawkins rose to fame after his expositions in the Salon de la Société des Artistes Francais. His first works were shown in the Salon in 1881. After that, expositions followed at the Salon de la Société des Beaux-Arts (1894–1911), the Salon de la Rose + Croix (1894–95) and La Libre Esthétique in Brussels.