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 late March to November.
Experience the only museum in the world specializing in 18th-century Newport furniture and related decorative arts. Open late May to October.
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 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 Jen Davis Duguid (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.
We will open April 29, 2023
2023 Operating Schedule (subject to change):
Tuesday-Friday: 10 a.m.- 4 p.m.
Saturday-Sunday: 10 a.m.-5 p.m.
BUY TICKETS
Museum Tickets (Spring-mid-November) General Admission: $20.00 Students with ID: $10.00 Children 12 & under: Free
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.
Pantsuit by André Courrèges
Nymph Attributed to Clodion
Portrait of Charles, Prince of Wales, later Charles II, by Van Dyck
Study for Decorative panel with two hounds by Oudry
Portrait of Raphael Franco by Gainsborough
Pair of musical automatons by John Henry Cox
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.
Two paintings by French artist Oudry hang on the second floor landing at Rough Point are preparatory sketches for paintings commissioned by Samuel Jacques Bernard, the comte de Coubert (1686-1753), for the dining room of his grand hôtel on the rue du Bac in Paris, built between 1740 and 1742. The full-scale paintings were removed in 1887 when the hôtel was dismantled and its decorations sold. They are now in the Museés des arts décoratifs, Strasbourg.
James B. Duke purchased this portrait of Jewish gem merchant Raphael Franco at auction in London in 1910. From 1912 to 1957, it hung in the library at the Duke house in New York. It hung there even after Doris Duke gifted the house to New York University in 1957, coming to Rough Point some time after 1970.
This pair of whimsical mechanical pieces (only one is shown here) were made in England for export to the Far East market. To fit English perceptions of Asian aesthetics, a pagoda shape includes animals exotic to Westerners such as elephants and ostriches. When operating, the devices play one of six tunes, and ships and horseback riders parade through painted backdrops revolving behind glass panels in the base. The automatons were acquired by Doris Duke in Bangkok, Thailand, in the 1960s.
