Miriam McKinnie facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Miriam McKinnie
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| Born | May 22, 1906 Evanston, Illinois
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| Died | October 22, 1987 (aged 81) Berryville, Arkansas
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| Nationality | American |
| Occupation | Artist, muralist |
Miriam McKinnie (May 22, 1906 – October 22, 1987) was an American artist. She was also known as Miriam McKinnie Hofmeier. She became famous for her large paintings, called murals. Many of her murals were created for public buildings like post offices. She painted them during a difficult time in American history called the Great Depression.
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Learning to Be an Artist
Miriam McKinnie was born in Evanston, Illinois. She loved art and studied at two important art schools. These were the Minneapolis School of Fine Art in Minnesota and the Kansas City Art Institute in Missouri. She also learned from a famous artist named Anthony Angarola.
Painting Murals for America
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From 1934 to 1943, many murals were painted across the United States. This was part of a special government program. It was run by the Treasury Department's Section of Fine Arts. The goal was to help people feel better during the Great Depression. This was a time when many Americans were struggling. The murals showed uplifting scenes to give people hope.
Artists from all over the country could enter competitions to paint these murals. About 850 artists were chosen to create 1371 murals. Most of these artworks were placed in post offices, libraries, and other public buildings. It's cool to know that 162 of these artists were women! The government set aside a small part of the building's construction cost for these art projects.
McKinnie's Famous Murals
Miriam McKinnie created several important murals. One of her oil-on-canvas murals is called Harvest. You can find it in the post office in Marshall, Illinois. She finished this painting in 1938.
In 1940, McKinnie painted another mural called The White Fawn. This one is in the United States post office in Forest Park, Illinois. She also donated four untitled murals to the public library in Edwardsville, Illinois, in 1958. She did this after a fire damaged the library.
McKinnie was a member of important art groups. She belonged to the National Association of Women Painters and Sculptors. Later, this group changed its name to the National Association of Women Artists. In the 1930s, she was also part of the Ste. Genevieve Art Colony in Missouri. Her watercolor painting of The White Fawn is now kept at the Smithsonian American Art Museum.
Miriam McKinnie passed away on October 22, 1987, in Berryville, Arkansas.
Recognized for Her Art
Miriam McKinnie's artwork was shown in many exhibitions. She displayed her art at the St. Louis Artist Guild several times in the late 1920s and early 1930s. Her work was also featured at the Midwestern Exhibition in Kansas City in 1932. She participated in shows by the National Association of Women Painters & Sculptors in the 1930s. Her art was even shown at the Corcoran Gallery in Washington, D.C., in 1947.
She also won many awards for her talent. She received prizes from the St. Louis Arts Guild multiple times. In 1932, she won a silver medal for her lithography at the Kansas City Art Institute. She also received an honorable mention and the Niedringhaus Prize for lithography. She won prizes from the National Association of Women Painters & Sculptors in New York City in 1935, 1937, and 1939.
