Wheelan's work was included in the Woman's Building at the 1893 Chicago World's Fair. In an account of women illustrators' work shown at the Fair, Alice C. Morse wrote that Wheelan "shows great originality, a remarkable sense of the humorous, and a daring handling of the pen. We enjoy hugely her Chinamen, cats, and other amusing creations. They are real beyond a shadow of a doubt, and one is positive that they have done, and will do again, all the ludicrous things that Mrs. Wheelan represents them as doing."