Temporary Exhibit: Here Comes the Bride
On exhibit May 23, 2025 through January 18, 2026
This special exhibit brought together Kate’s stage, screen, and personal lives through the lens of bridal gowns. Her personal gown from her only wedding in 1928 stood alongside one from her Broadway play The Lake (1933) and one from her film The Sea of Grass (1947).
Temporary Exhibit: Kate at Home
On exhibit November 22, 2024 through May 16, 2025
This special exhibit explores Kate’s love of being at home, particularly when home was Connecticut. It features casual items from her everyday wardrobe, hobby paintings of her surroundings, and an unproduced screenplay about her relationship with her personal secretary, Phyllis Wilbourn.
Temporary Exhibit: Kate as Coco
On exhibit May 12, 2024 through November 22, 2024
This special exhibit told the story of Coco, the Tony-nominated musical about Coco Chanel, starring Katharine Hepburn. The exhibit featured three costumes associated with the production, Katharine Hepburn self-portrait as Coco, personal letters from Miss Hepburn, and other artifacts related to the production.
Temporary Exhibit: Cover Girl Kate
On exhibit November 22, 2023, through May 11, 2024
Despite being an actress known to eschew the press, Katharine Hepburn graced magazine covers for eight straight decades. Collected in this exhibit are a select few of the covers featuring Miss Hepburn from the 1930s through the 2000s.
These magazines not only trace the trajectory of her career, from fresh faced starlet to the grand dame of American acting, but also reflect major historical events and cultural shifts in American life over the past century.
In these magazines, articles on Kate are found alongside reports on farm bills during the Great Depression, editorials about Joseph McCarthy, features debating the role of women in the workforce, warnings about the emerging AIDS crisis, and reviews of the first Harry Potter film.
Temporary Exhibit: The Importance of Being Kate & Ernest
On exhibit May 21, 2023, through November 21, 2023
Katharine Hepburn and playwright Ernest Thompson worked together on two productions—the Academy Award-winning film On Golden Pond and the Broadway play The West Side Waltz. This exhibit features original costumes worn by Hepburn in both productions, an original oil painting by Henry Fonda, as well as photos, awards, and other items associated with these productions.
Temporary Exhibit: Costuming Kate in the Studio System
On exhibit November 12, 2022, through May 21, 2023
This exhibit highlighted three dresses on loan from costume collector John Davey. Each dress was designed by well-known costume designers of the day and were created specifically for Katharine Hepburn. Featuring a beige crepe dressing robe designed by Walter Plunkett and worn in the film Adam’s Rib (1949; a brown and tan plaid linen day coat designed by Irene and worn in the film State of the Union (1948), and a bronze silk coat dress designed by Charles Le Maire and worn in the film Desk Set (1957). Also on display was Katharine Hepburn’s contract from the film Desk Set (1957).
Temporary Exhibit: Pants!
On exhibit November 21, 2021, through November 12, 2022
Revered as a fashion icon, Kate received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Fashion Designers of America in 1985. She was elegant and glamorous, but most of all she was practical. She adopted menswear and pants as her preferred look early on and often commissioned favorite costume designers to create tailored pants and other personal wardrobe pieces.
