NRF promotes and invests in the architectural heritage of the Newport community, the traditional building trades, and Doris Duke’s fine and decorative arts collections, for the enjoyment, education and inspiration of all.
As a leader in the preservation of early American architecture, NRF supports research and education in areas directly related to its collections and issues of critical concern to the field of historic preservation.
Visit Doris Duke’s art-filled mansion and enjoy panoramic ocean views from the extensive grounds. Open late March to November.
The Vernon House is a site for expansive story-telling, contemporary dialogue, and preservation trades skill-building.
Newport Restoration Foundation holds one of the largest collections of period architecture owned by a single organization anywhere in the United States.
Celebrate excellence in historic preservation efforts within the City of Newport, Rhode Island.
Live amidst history by renting one of our many historic properties.
Doris Duke was an animal lover and kept numerous pets at Rough Point, including two camels. Her vast art collection featured a wonderful array of pieces depicting animals as friends, adversaries and allegories.
The Raven and the Chickens
Parrot Figurines
Penguin Statues
Weekes enjoyed painting animals, often personifying them in almost human-like situations. In this particular painting, he has posed the raven as though on a podium, lecturing to a crowd of chickens.
Exotic animals fascinated people in Europe and around the world. As porcelain figurines became popular in Europe, they commonly depicted exotic animals. People could have a piece of an exotic land, such as this colorful parrot, in their own homes.
Doris Duke kept these bronze penguins at her house Duke Farms in New Jersey. They acted as doorstops in the "Hollywood" wing, a section of the house constructed in the 1930s and decorated in the Art Deco style.
