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.
Visit Doris Duke’s art-filled mansion and enjoy panoramic ocean views from the extensive grounds. Open late March to November.
The Vernon House is a site for expansive story-telling, contemporary dialogue, and preservation trades skill-building.
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.
Rough Point Museum was the Newport home of heiress, collector, and philanthropist Doris Duke (1912-1993). Experience Doris Duke’s life and legacy through the house, the fine and decorative arts and fashion collections, and a historic landscape with panoramic views of the Atlantic Ocean.
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 visit@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.
2024 Operating Schedule:
Tuesday-Friday, 10am-4pm
Saturday-Sunday, 10am – 5pm
Closed Mondays
BUY TICKETS
Museum Tickets General Admission: $20.00 Students with ID: $10.00 Children 12 & under: Free
Newport County Residents: Free (general admission)
Rough Point is a Blue Star Museum.
680 Bellevue Avenue Newport, RI 401–847–8344 visit@newportrestoration.org
Parking is available onsite. The house is air-conditioned and wheelchair accessible.
Portrait of Thomas Freeman, Jr., Esq. by Hoare
Portrait of Nanaline Holt Inman Duke
Portrait of Charles Oldfield Bowles by Hoppner
Sleeping Putto
Molded plaster ceiling with heroes of the ancient world
20 panels of hand painted Chinese wallpaper
This portrait was a purchase of Doris Duke's father from the dealer Knoedler & Co. in New York in November 1924.
From 1912 to 1957, this grand portrait of Doris Duke's mother, Nanaline Holt Inman Duke (1871-1962), hung in the library of the Duke family's residence in New York City at 1 East 78th Street. It was moved to Newport in the late 1950s when Doris Duke gave the New York house to New York University.
The portrait was made in 1907 around the time that Nanaline, the widow of wealthy Atlanta-based cotton merchant, William Inman, married tobacco and energy tycoon James Buchanan Duke.
Charles Oldfield Bowles (1785-1862) was the son of an amateur painter and musician Oldfield Bowles (1739-1810) of North Aston, Oxfordshire. This was the first of five John Hoppner paintings owned by James B. Duke. He purchased it in 1908 not long after his marriage in 1907 to Nanaline Holt Inman, a widower from Macon, Georgia, who had a son, Walker, of about the same age as the sitter when Hoppner captured his likeness.
Within elaborately shaped medallions are portrait busts of Joshua, Hector, and Alexander the Great.
Doris Duke bought two lots of Chinese wallpaper at auction in 1958 and 1959 and had them pieced together to create 20 panels that would fit the Music Room walls at Rough Point. This particular panel was put together from three widths of paper that once hung in Clyne Castle, an 18th century Welsh country house near Swansea.