Miriam McKinnie

Miriam McKinnie Hofmeier was born in Evanston, Illinois, on May 15, 1906. Her family moved to Edwardsville, Illinois, after the death of her father to be closer to relatives. When Miriam was in high school, her family moved to Minneapolis, Minnesota. McKinnie’s grandfather, William Wells, was a wildlife painter and the head of the art department for the Chicago Tribune.  

McKinnie studied art at the Minneapolis School of Fine Art and the Kansas City Art Institute. She was a student of the artist Anthony Angarola in Minneapolis and Chicago. In 1927, McKinnie was  awarded a scholarship to the Art Students League in New York City, but she was unable to accept it due to her mother’s health.

In 1932, McKinnie was an exhibitor with the Ste. Genevieve Art Colony. At the time, she was an instructor at the Washington University School of Fine Arts, and she became an instructor with the Ste. Genevieve Colony’s summer school. 

In 1937, McKinnie attended the Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center with a scholarship, and there she studied under Boardman Robinson. She assisted him with the murals he was painting for the Department of Justice Building in Washington, D.C.

In 1938, McKinnie painted the mural Harvest for the U.S. Post Office in Marshall, Illinois. In 1939-1940, McKinnie was commissioned by the United States Treasury Department to paint a mural for the U.S. Post Office in Forest Park, Illinois, titled White Fawn.

For two years McKinnie was the head of the art department of the upper school at the Mary Institute in Clayton, Missouri, and taught from 1944-1950 at the St. Louis School of Fine Arts, Washington University. At Washington University she taught drawing, composition and painting.

In 1955-1956, McKinnie earned her master's of fine arts degree at the Instituto Allende in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico. 

McKinnie made murals for the Edwardsville, Illinois, Public Library in 1958.

In the 1960s, McKinnie was on the staff of the Arkansas Art Center in Little Rock. She had a home in Eureka Springs, Arkansas, and conducted summer classes from her home. 

Miriam McKinnie died on October 22, 1987, in Berryville, Arkansas.