Doris Duke sat for this portrait in 1923, the year that Rough Point was being renovated for the Duke Family by Philadelphia architect Horace Trumbauer. The artist, John Da Costa, had been commissioned around the same time to paint formal portraits of her father, the tobacco and energy tycoon James B. Duke, and grandfather, Washington Duke, after whom Duke University was renamed in the 1920s.

Central painted dial with Roman numerals within a beaded frame and sunburst surround.

This is one of two double portraits painted by Anthony Van Dyck for the two men depicted here, one for each. The other portrait is in the collection of the National Portrait Gallery in London. It was purchased by Doris Duke in 1963 and was her first major purchase of Old Master paintings and the perfect complement to her father's collection of 18th-century portraits by British painters.

These four wingchairs were recently reupholstered, and when the old fabric was removed, our curator and conservator found a surprise. What were thought to be 19th- or early 20th-century reproductions of a distinct 17th-century style of armchair, turned out to be mid 20th-century copies that are so poorly constructed under the upholstery, they might have been intended as props for the stage or a movie set. Certainly they look great in and are appropriately scaled for the Great Hall at Rough Point, where they add a bit of whimsy and flair. Perhaps that is all that mattered to Doris Duke as well!

This painting from the collection of James B. Duke was purchased in 1923 to hang in his home in New York City. It features Hyacinthe Gabrielle Rolan and her two sons, Richard and Henry. The portrait came to Rough Point some time after January 1958.