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.
All Newport K-12 students and their families are invited to visit Doris Duke’s eccentric home for a night of fun and exploration.
Get insider tips about how the Rough Point staff keep the grounds looking lush and how to incorporate those practices in your own home garden.
Celebrate Halloween at Rough Point Museum during Roam Around hours on Wednesday, October 30. Experience the museum after the sun goes down and the lights are low, discover strange and eerie objects, and hear recordings of ghost stories told by the staff who knew Rough Point at its spookiest. Gardens will also be open for an illuminated jack-o-lantern stroll. Costumes encouraged!
Adults $20, Students w/ ID $10, Children 12 and under free Free for Newport County Residents
Tickets for admission available at the door; no advance reservation necessary.
Celebrate Halloween at Rough Point Museum during Roam Around hours on Wednesday, October 30.
Every season at Rough Point offers a certain kind of magic — come experience Doris Duke’s Newport home during the darkest and merriest days of the year.
Museum Hours The museum is open Tuesday – Sunday, 10:00 am to 5:00 pm and Wednesday until 7:00 pm.
Visit the remarkable mansion of an unconventional heiress. Admission to Rough Point includes access to the house, galleries, and gardens for exploration at your own pace. Knowledgeable guides are on hand to answer questions and share their favorite stories.
Grounds Pass: Tuesday – Sunday Explore the historic landscape and enjoy spectacular ocean views, between 10:00 am – 5:00 pm.
Tickets Adults: $20.00 Students with ID: $10.00 Children 12 & under: Free
Ground 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 closes for the season after October 27, 2019.
Group Tours For groups larger than 10 visitors, please visit our Group Tours page.
Guided Tours Highlights of the Museum 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. Tours last approximately 60 minutes.
Tours offered daily at 11:00 am and 2:00 pm. Included with admission.
Garden Tours 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.
Tours offered daily at 1:30 pm. Included with admission.
Roam Around Rough Point After hours access to the house, special exhibitions, and the grounds
Wednesdays, 5:00 pm to 7:00 pm. Newport, RI County Residents are 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.
Nymph Attributed to Clodion
Portrait of Charles, Prince of Wales, later Charles II, by Van Dyck
Portrait of Doris Duke at 11 years old
Beauvais tapestry with the arms of France and Navarre
Pair of Shoes by Jay Thorpe
Famille Rose covered jars with phoenix and cranes among peonies
Portrait of a young Charles, Prince of Wales (1630-1685), in court costume. This is one of two paintings by Van Dyck, the court painter to Charles I that Doris Duke bought for Rough Point in 1963.
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.
According to the records of the Beauvais manufactory, this tapestry was woven between September 1740 and May 1741. The design is based on a painting by Francois Boucher now in the Palais de Justice in Rouen, France, and it is the only version of the tapestry made from this pattern. Doris Duke bought the tapestry in New York in 1965 from the estate auction of Mrs. Alexander Hamilton Rice, whose Newport residence, Miramar, was just a few houses up Bellevue Avenue from Rough Point.
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.
