Jack Putnam

1936-2018

American (New York, New York)

John Bruce Putnam was born on July 2, 1936, in Boston to Philip Austin, a law librarian at Harvard Law School, and Thelma Madeleine (Arthur) Putnam, who worked at the Harvard development office. After graduating from Belmont Hill School he attended Harvard, where he was a member of the Navy Reserve Officer Training Corps. He graduated in 1958 with a degree in English, then served at Naval Station Norfolk in Virginia and later as a lieutenant commander in the Navy Reserve.

Putnam was a longtime member of the South Street Seaport Museum community, where he served in many roles, including Museum's historian, Melville scholar, tour guide and educator, bookstore manager, and ship-keeper of the barque Peking. He was also a photographer and painter and built models of small rowing dories and sailing vessels from scratch. He was often recognized as the unofficial conscience of the Seaport Museum.

Artist profile image: Jack Putnam, 2008. Librado Romero/The New York Times.