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 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.
Help us to continue a lived-in legacy by becoming a Restoration Partner 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.
Discover strange and eerie objects, go on a Treasure Hunt, enter our Costume Contest, and hear recordings of ghost stories told by the staff who knew Rough Point at its spookiest.
Experience the holiday traditions and winter caretaking practices at Rough Point.
We look forward to welcoming you safely onsite for a self-guided experience at Rough Point.
During Your Visit:
For inquiries about private tours, please contact Jen Davis (jen@newportrestoration.org).
Visit our online museum store!
The products of the Newport Restoration Foundation Store celebrate the life and passions of our founder, Doris Duke. We invite you to explore our curated collections—including unique, one-of-a-kind pieces inspired by our museums’ design, collections, and stories— exclusively available here.
Click here to start shopping from home or visit shopnewportrestoration.org.
Museum Hours
October 5 – November 14th
Tuesday-Friday 10:00am-4:00pm; Saturday-Sunday 10:00am-5:00pm
Join us for A Rough Point Holiday!
Weekends starting November 26 – January 2
Tickets now available! Click here to learn more.
Museum Tickets Adults: $20.00 Students with ID: $10.00 Children 12 & under: Free
Rough Point is a Blue Star Museum. Active-duty military and families receive free admission from May 15-September 6, 2021.
Grounds & Gardens access included in museum admission.
Grounds Pass All visitors: $5
Combine Your Ticket Purchase a combined ticket to both Whitehorne House Museum* and Rough Point Museum for only $25! *Whitehorne House Museum is closed for the regular season and will reopen May 2021.
TICKETS
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.
Portrait of Doris Duke at 11 years old
Tapestry with scenes of amorous couples
Near Reef of Norman’s Woe by Lane
Large Cizhou baluster jar
Famille Rose covered jars with phoenix and cranes among peonies
Pair of wrought iron console tables with gilding
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.
Shown here is one of a set of three tapestries bought by James B. Duke in 1923, shortly after purchasing Rough Point. All three tapestries have scenes that evoke nobility in Renaissance Europe, including couples strolling and riding horses surrounded by musicians, a coronation, and a royal engagement.
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.
This pair of finely painted covered jars represent just a small portion of the large collection of Chinese Export ceramics that Doris Duke's parents had collected for their New York City residence. From historic photographs we know that from ca. 1912 to 1957 these jars were displayed alongside the 18th-century tapestry upholstered furniture in the Drawing Room of the Dukes' New York City house, just as they are today in the Music Room at Rough Point.
This pair of tables is in the style of later 18th-century French Louis XVI wall consoles, but they were made in the 19th century to match the scale and opulence of Gilded Age mansions. They were originally part of the furnishings of the New York mansion where Doris Duke grew up, but moved to Rough Point’s Solarium at Rough Point in the late 1950s.
