The murals were intended to boost the morale of the American people suffering from the effects of the Depression by depicting uplifting subjects.

[2] Almost 850 artists were commissioned to paint 1371 murals, most of which were installed in post offices, libraries, and other public buildings.

[3] McKinnie's mural work includes the oil-on-canvas mural titled Harvest in the Marshall, Illinois post office, commissioned by the Treasury Section of Fine Arts, and completed in 1938.

McKinnie painted a WPA-commissioned mural in 1940 titled The White Fawn in the United States post office in the Forest Park, Illinois.

[6] Her watercolor rendering of The White Fawn is in the Smithsonian American Art Museum.