by NRF User | Apr 3, 2022 | NRF News
Whether you are looking for a perfect gift or are celebrating the coming of spring, check out what’s new at our museum store. Thank you for shopping local and supporting your favorite museums!
For lounging in style: Featuring custom patterns from Rough Point and Whitehorne House Museum, these super comfy and stylish lounge pants are ultra soft and come with handy front pockets. Perfect for being at home or on the go!
Doris Duke’s recently re-upholstered chaise lounge inspired us with its bold blossoms, birds, and butterflies pattern. Check out our new carry-all and yoga pants featuring this fabulous pattern.
Send a note through snail mail (or a #camelgram). Send a note to a friend or collect these postcards as prints!
For tea-enthusiasts: Featuring delicious flavors and custom patterns inspired by Rough Point and Whitehorne House Museum, this collection has everything you need for a fancy afternoon tea or for enjoying a cozy, relaxing cuppa.
These custom coasters protect surfaces from spills, work well with a cozy cup of tea, and make perfect gifts.
For journaling : Jot down your thoughts, record your dreams, decompress after a long day, make lists, or doodle away with these custom, themed journals. Now in the popular Floral Wallpaper pattern!
For those who know every day is Caturday: Named after Whitehorne House Museum’s honorary cat, Luna the onrament is a purrfect and festive addition to your home. And unlike the real Luna, this ornament is safe around holiday trees!
Get ready for spring: Don’t forget your gardener gloves—our collection now includes *new* Garden of Paradise arm saver gloves and our weeder gloves are now back in stock!
Cozy up with this soft, handmade Newport Blanket, named for the city of Newport. Perfect for a sunrise yoga session, gathering together for s’mores around a bonfire, getting comfy for a movie marathon, listening to a music festival, enjoying a good book in a grassy park, watching sunsets on the beach, and delicious picnics on summer days.
Inspired by Asia: The Collection: Inspired by the vibrant ceramics, gorgeously detailed fashion, and expertly crafted decorative arts on display at Rough Point? Want to discover more about East Asian craft and design and the Duke family’s collection? Check out these products curated in honor of this year’s special exhibition, Inspired by Asia: Highlights from the Duke Family Collection.
We will be adding new custom products throughout the spring, so stay in touch and follow updates to our new collection here: https://shopnewportrestoration.org/collections/new-in-2022
Standard shipping is free with purchases of $35 or more. We now giftwrap as well: Take the stress out of gift-giving. Select the giftwrapping option to have your gifts be beautifully wrapped in paper featuring hand-drawn illustrations and patterning.
by NRF User | Mar 14, 2022 | NRF News
This April, nonprofit organizations across Rhode Island are participating in the statewide giving day known as #401Gives. Starting at midnight on April 1, you can visit 401Gives.org and donate to NRF, or to one or more of the many participating nonprofits in the Rhode Island community. We are grateful to our many donors and friends who supported NRF over the past two years through this important day of giving.
What is 401Gives?
401Gives is an initiative of United Way of Rhode Island. Now in its third year, the purpose is to bring a collective voice to Rhode Island’s nonprofit community and deepen the state’s culture of philanthropy. In 2021, Rhode Islanders made history by contributing close to $2.3 million dollars to benefit 422 nonprofits.
As a local nonprofit organization, NRF is proud to participate in 401Gives as a way to educate our neighbors on the wide range of activities we engage in within our community, our state, and beyond. Many of the programs and experiences we offer are possible thanks to you – our generous neighbors and friends on Aquidneck Island – and those statewide who visit our museum properties annually.
How can you make a difference on 401Gives Day?
Whether you decide to make a gift to NRF on April 1, or another organization, we hope you will participate if you’re able.
- Visit 401Gives and search for NRF!
- Check out NRF’s microsite to learn more about what we do and to make your gift.
- Like and share our posts on Facebook and Instagram to spread the word to others who can join the 401Gives movement and support local nonprofits
Questions? Comments?
If you have any questions, or would like more information, please contact Alicia Cipriano, Manager of Development and Donor Relations, at 401-849-7300, Ext. 117.
Thank you in advance for your generosity, for participating in this greater community effort, and for caring about the well-being of all Rhode Islanders!
by NRF User | Mar 3, 2022 | NRF News
To celebrate Women’s History Month, we are highlighting women collectors, artists, and makers who are an important part of the stories we tell at NRF.
Although Rough Point is not featured in HBO’s The Gilded Age show, it was certainly part of the real Gilded Age.
Just as fictional Bertha Russell plays an important role in the success of her family—including her husband’s business interests—so did Nanaline Duke. She knew how to successfully navigate society and to help her husband make and strengthen business connections through society events like dinners. She was responsible for creating a comfortable, well-ordered home by furnishing, decorating and arranging the spaces, and managing the household staff.
Newport was a center for the social elite to spend their summers. The Duke family vacationed in Newport long before they purchased Rough Point in 1922. Over the next two years, Nanaline worked to make Rough Point a showcase and an attractive place to host society events.
She was very hands-on and corresponded with the design firms and decorators working on the renovations (as she was during the construction on the Duke house on 78th Street and 5th Ave. in 1909). Although American women may have had limited rights—and only were guaranteed the right to vote in 1920—they exercised their economic buying power. Besides being involved with the design of the rooms, Nanaline also purchased objects and furnishings for Rough Point.
This invoice from June of 1924 is a list from shopping excursions to a local Newport store, John H. Kazanjian & Co., specializing in “Oriental” wares. Items Nanaline purchased included 15 dining room chairs (and 15 wastebaskets!), 2 sugar bowls, 16 pillows, and many other assorted household goods.
There is a tendency to dismiss women’s shopping in this period as frivolous and unimportant. In fact, the press would later dismiss daughter Doris Duke’s behavior as “shopping” when she was in the process of amassing a significant collection of art from Southeast Asia and from the Islamic world.
But middle-class and wealthy women—through their purchases, their social rituals, and philanthropic work—helped shape American consumer culture (the rise of big department stores!), ideas about philanthropy and charitable giving, and collections of objects that are collected and stewarded in museums today.
Our upcoming exhibition, Inspired by Asia: Highlights from the Duke Family Collection, also explores the role Nanaline played in collecting art and design from Asia. Many of the objects on display at Rough Point today were purchased by Nanaline Duke—discover Nanaline’s influence on Rough Point’s design the next time you visit.
1) Portrait of Nanaline Duke, wife of James B. Duke. By Douglas Chandor (1897-1953) ca. 1931. Oil on canvas. On display in the Nanaline Duke building in Duke University.
2) Rough Point Receipt, 1924, courtesy of Doris Duke Charitable Foundation Historical Archives, David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library, Duke University. Durham, NC.
by NRF User | Feb 7, 2022 | NRF News
This bright and bold pattern featuring birds, butterflies, and blossoms is on the fabric covering the recently reupholstered chaise lounge in Doris Duke’s bedroom.
As part of the conservation process for the chaise, the Griswold Textile Mill reproduced the pattern from the fabric that had naturally deteriorated. The Griswold Textile Mill in Westerly, RI. was established in 1937 and is one of the only fully operational, hand printed fabric mills in the United States. The hand printed fabric now has UV protection to help with the longevity of the upholstery. Doris Duke chose the pattern—along with others—from the Thai Silk Co. sometime after 1983.
Established in 1951, the Thai Silk Co. produced fabrics made with Thai silk by skilled Thai weavers. The brand became known internationally, especially after Queen Sirikit became a patron and wore Thai silk during her tour of 15 Western nations in 1960.
You can see this striking chaise the next time you visit Rough Point Museum—and you can learn more about Thai silk in our upcoming special exhibition, Inspired by Asia: Highlights from the Duke Family Collection.
by NRF User | Feb 1, 2022 | NRF News
To celebrate Black History Month, we are featuring the stories of African-heritage and African Americans who are an integral part of our story and our communities’ stories—along with resources so you can discover more!
The Gilded Age has left its mark on the American popular imagination—and one of the largest legacies of the Gilded Age are the buildings designed during the era. One man responsible for many of these buildings was Julian Abele (1881-1950), a chief architect for the firm of Horace Trumbauer.
Abele was born in Philadelphia and graduated with a degree in architecture from the University of Pennsylvania in 1902. He was one of the first African American professional architects, at a time when the field of architecture was being shaped into the profession it is today.
He began working for the Horace Trumbauer firm in 1906—advancing to become chief architect in 1909 and assuming leadership of the firm after Trumbauer’s death in 1938.
Abele was arguably the creative force behind the majority of Trumbauer projects in this period, including many for the Duke family (as Abele said, “The lines are all Mr. Trumbauer’s, but the shadows are all mine”). While he did not have a direct hand in the renovation of Rough Point in the early-1920s, (our understanding is that this type of project would not have been undertaken by Abele and it would have been the responsibility of a separate renovation department), you can see the evidence of his influence on the design of the grand staircase at Rough Point—which closely resembles the one designed by Abele for Ronaele Manor (Dixon home in Elkins, PA) in 1923.
His accomplishments and his prolific body of work are even more impressive considering he also contended with discrimination and racism. He was not admitted as a member of the American Institute of Architects until 1942—40 years after his professional career began. He designed buildings for Duke University for two decades, but rarely visited—and was not able to oversee the work—because of segregation Jim Crow laws.
Today, you can visit Abele’s work across the eastern United States—including the former Duke residence at East 78th Street and 5th Avenue (1909), Harvard’s Widener Memorial Library (1915), the Philadelphia Free Library (1917), and several Duke University campus buildings.
To learn more about Abele’s life and lasting legacy, check out Dreck Spurlock Wilson’s Julian Abele, Architect and the Beaux Arts, published in 2019.
Image credits:
1) Julian Abele, courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.
2) Stair Hall, from The Collection of Heraldic Stained Glass at Ronaele Manor, 1927. From the collection of the Philadelphia Museum of Art.
3) Announcement of Duke residence, from the New York Times, 1914.
by NRF User | Nov 8, 2021 | NRF News
Let us help you celebrate the season! We’ve made holiday shopping easy by putting together some great gift ideas from the NRF Museum Store.
Thank you for supporting the Newport Restoration Foundation and for shopping local. All proceeds benefit NRF and help promote our mission.
Enjoy free standard shipping—as well as free local delivery and free local pickup.
Take the stress out of gift-giving! Your gifts will be beautifully wrapped in paper featuring hand-drawn illustrations and patterning. Select “gift wrapping” during checkout.
*New for 2021*
Limited Edition Tiger Lily Print collection: Featuring the tropical tiger lily print of Doris Duke’s 1938 Jantzen swimming suit, these limited-edition products are perfect for holiday gifting (or as a treat for yourself)!
Gift Sets: Perfectly curated gift sets for a special someone—or yourself! Each set includes a natural homemade soap bar, a hand-poured wood wick candle that crackles when lit, and a natural balm that nourishes and protects lips.
Get Holiday Ready
Holiday Collection: Celebrate the holidays with featured ornaments, exclusive products inspired by the museum collections, and special gifts (for you, or to share!)
Ornaments: From the iconic exterior of Rough Point, to an homage to Doris’s passion for jazz, to brightly-colored handcrafted designs, these ornaments are perfect to display at home all year-round.
For Entertaining: Entertain in style (or dress up a cozy night at home) with these beautiful, collection-inspired, eco-friendly napkins, plates, coasters, and guest towels.
Unique gifts for all:
For the book-lover: From Doris Duke’s closets & collections, to historic Newport buildings, inside looks at Rough Point, colonial life & Newport furniture, garden-related stories for gardeners & enthusiasts, and kid-friendly new favorites & classics—discover a book for everyone!
For the decisive decision-maker: Featuring a saying from a pillow gifted to Doris Duke, these items showcase Doris’s sense of humor (and your own!)
For the furniture fan: These items are inspired by Whitehorne House Museum’s collection of exquisitely crafted furniture and the stories of the people who designed, made, and purchased furniture and related crafts.
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Newport Restoration Foundation R.P. Foley Photograph
Project # P-12 Proof # 10 Date ’68
4 Elm St. Before [Robert Foley’s notes on photo]
Developed: 1968
For your furry friends: Our pets deserve some TLC this winter season (*all products are rated two paws up!)
For the gardener: Stylish & sturdy gardening gloves, beautiful books, hand salve, & more. NRF Estate Gardener approved!
For hardworking hands: Soaps, hand butter, hand salve & more! Everything you need to pamper your hard-working hands. From relaxing to invigorating scents—go ahead and indulge. Locally made with organic and sustainably sourced ingredients.
For kids: Fun, educational, and whimsical products for the littlest explorers, artists, and gardeners.
For restoration buffs: Founded in 1968 by Doris Duke, NRF works to study climate change resilience in Newport, develop new community-oriented programs, preserve our museums and historic buildings, and steward centuries-old properties. You too can join us in supporting this work.
For the yogi: These custom yoga pants are relaxing, comfy, & stylish. Limited quantities!
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6 Cross Street
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NRF Museum Store gift cards are also available for use online or in store.
Follow us on social media @nptrestoration or sign up to receive newsletters to stay in the know about new products and sales.
Our special holiday pop-up is located at Rough Point Museum, 680 Bellevue Ave. Open weekends during the holiday season, including November 26th.
Cheers!
