Polly Putnam, Curator of Collections.
Position: Curator of Collections
About
Polly has particular responsibility for Kew Palace and the later history of Hampton Court Palace. As of December 2023, she is Chair of the executive committee and Trustee of the Association of Dress Historians. She specialises in the material culture of the long 18th Century. She has published on the furnishing of Queen Charlotte’s Cottage in Kew, curating decorative arts and authenticity in heritage presentation. She has been a guest lecturer at Kings College London, The Victoria and Albert Museum, and Tufts University.
Polly’s recent exhibitions include Crown to Couture (2023), George II: Man Behind the Myth (2020/2021), Victoria: Woman and Crown (2019), The Great Pagoda (2018), and The Chocolate Kitchens, Hampton Court Palace (2014).
Select publications
Putnam, P., (ed), ‘History of Court and Fashion’, ‘Getting Ready’, ‘Macaroni Dress’, Indian Muslin’, ‘Interviews with Stylists’, Crown to Couture: The Magazine (London: Historic Royal Palaces, 2013).
Putnam, P., “The Tasteful Genius of Princess Elizabeth”: The Furnishing of Queen Charlotte’s Cottage, Kew, in 1895’, Furniture History, 53 (2017), 107-121.