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.
Tour Doris Duke’s art-filled mansion and enjoy panoramic ocean views from the extensive grounds, designed by Frederick Law Olmsted. Open April to November.
Experience the only museum in the world specializing in 18th-century Newport furniture and related decorative arts.
Explore 40 acres of open space, a tribute to the agrarian heritage of Aquidneck Island. The site is open daily from dawn to dusk for public enjoyment.
Newport Restoration Foundations 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.
Help us to continue a lived-in legacy by making a contribution to our Annual Fund today.
Rough Point is a mansion and a museum with an extensive collection of fine and decorative arts and a sprawling historic landscape with panoramic views of the Atlantic Ocean. The property is experienced today largely as it was lived in during the lifetime of its most famous owner, the heiress, philanthropist, and preservationist Doris Duke.
Get insider tips on how the Rough Point staff keep the grounds looking lush and how to incorporate those practices in your own home garden.
Our summer garden party is back by popular demand! Come celebrate NRF's 50th year in 1960s style. Featuring ocean breezes, genteel lawn games, and summer cocktails. Vintage inspired attire is encouraged, and sartorial prizes will be awarded to the guests who best channel Doris Duke's '60s style (Search NewportalRI.org for fashion inspiration!). Bossa Nova tunes provided by the International String Trio.
Each registration includes one complimentary drink ticket; additional refreshments will be available for purchase.
Back by popular demand! Come celebrate this big year for NRF in 1960s style. Join us as we get groovy with vintage cocktails, ocean breezes, genteel lawn games, and live music.
This curator-led experience will focus on Doris’s sartorial choices during the 1960s, including go-go boots and colorful caftans, and what we can learn from the garments she left behind.
This talk follows the footsteps of legendary mid-century photographer Eugene Smith to his New York City "jazz loft," which became an afterhours haunt for the likes of Thelonious Monk, Zoot Sims, and yes... even Doris Duke.
Jackie Kennedy in the White House and Grace Slick at Woodstock. This illustrated talk explores the tangled web of fashion, culture, and society in the 1960s.
Newport in the 1960s was a time-worn place, a city of many architectural layers. Through period photographs and compelling news reports, journey back to the old colonial districts of the Historic Hill and Point of the 1960s when an important chapter in Newport's history was being written.
Interested in a shorter, self-directed visit to the museum or more time to see the special exhibitions? Self-guided Roam Around Rough Point hours offer visitors a chance to explore the house, galleries, and gardens at their own pace. Knowledgeable guides are on hand to answer questions and share their favorite stories.
Roam Around Rough Point Hours: Saturday & Wednesday The museum is open for self-guided visits, Saturday from 3-5:00 and Wednesdays from 5-7:00. Please note that tickets will not be issued after 4:45 on Saturdays and 6:45 on Wednesdays.
Note: On July 11, Roam Around Rough Point hours will closed due to a special event.
Grounds Pass: Tuesday–Sunday Explore the historic landscape and enjoy spectacular ocean views, between 9:30–5:00.
Tickets Adults: $10.00 Children 12 & under: Free
Ground Pass All visitors: $5
Rough Point is a Blue Star Museum. Active-duty military and families receive free admission from May 26-September 3, 2018.
Group Tours For groups larger than 11 visitors, please visit our Group Tours page.
Guided tours introduce the singular personality of Doris Duke through the home she created, the art she collected, and the causes she embraced. The tour visits two floors of the house and special exhibition galleries. We invite you to explore the grounds on your own or join us for a guided garden tour.
Museum Tours: Tuesday-Sunday 75-minute tours depart every half hour, beginning at 9:30 and ending at 3:30. Last tour on Saturday is at 2:00 pm.
Garden Tours: Tuesday-Friday @ 2:00 30-minute tour of the historic gardens at Rough Point. Enjoy breathtaking ocean views as we talk about the transformation of the grounds over the seasons and how NRF’s celebrates Doris Duke’s interest in environmental conservation and sustainable horticulture. Weather permitting. Free with purchase of ticket.
Tickets Adults: $25.00 Ages 13-18 & Students w/ ID: $10.00 Children 12 & under: Free
Tickets for all admissions available at the door; no advance reservation necessary.
680 Bellevue Avenue Newport, RI 401–847–8344 visit@newportrestoration.org
Parking is available at the property. The estate is fully air-conditioned and wheelchair accessible.
Tapestry with proclamation scene
Large Cizhou baluster jar
Near Reef of Norman’s Woe by Lane
Sunburst clock
Tiffany swan centerpiece
Portrait bust of Augustus in bronze
One of a pair of early sixteenth-century Flemish tapestries purchased for Rough Point in 1923. When Doris Duke closed and emptied the house of its contents in 1954, these tapestries went to Duke University where they were hung for display in the main Library. They were returned to Rough Point in 1957 and since then have hung at either end of the dining table, which Doris Duke positioned to take full advantage of the ocean views from the eastern facing windows.
When Doris Duke bought this early Chinese jar in 1955, she expressed a shared passion with her parents for Asian ceramics, but at the same time signaled a departure from their narrowly focused interest in later eighteenth-century export ware. As a result, Rough Point is filled with a wonderful range of Chinese pottery from the thirteenth to the eighteenth centuries. The distinct monochrome floral decoration of this jar was achieved by cutting away a layer of dark brown glaze to create a contrasting lighter background from the unglazed stoneware body. This is a technique associated with workshops in Northern China from the eleventh to fourteenth centuries named for Cizhou (now called Ci County or Cixian), a prefecture in southern Hebei, which was one of the main centers of production.
Central painted dial with Roman numerals within a beaded frame and sunburst surround.
Made by Tiffany in 1874 and exhibited at the Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia in 1876, the silver swan was a latecomer to the collection of Doris Duke. She bought it at auction in 1988, and was so fond of it that she kept it with her on her annual cycle of journeys to homes in Honolulu, Beverly Hills, Newport, New York, and Hillsborough, New Jersey. Given that this might suggest a late-in-life turn to the eccentric, it is worth noting that in the same year, Doris acquired her two Bactrian camels, Princess and Baby.
The bust and the pedestal were purchased separately by Doris Duke in 1962 from the sale of the contents of The Elms, the Bellevue Avenue mansion owned by the Berwind family and designed by Horace Trumbauer.
