Megan Shaw is a Doctoral Candidate in Art History at the University of Auckland Waipapa Taumata Rau. She researches elite women in 17th century England, royal favour, cultural patronage and art collections. Her PhD thesis is a cultural history of Katherine Villiers, Duchess of Buckingham (neé Manners, 1603-1649) which was supported by a Junior Fellowship with the Paul Mellon Centre for Studies in British Art. She also has an interest in contemporary art from New Zealand and Australia as the Assistant Manager of the Chartwell Charitable Trust.