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 making a contribution to our Annual Fund today.
The only museum in the world specializing in 18th-century Newport furniture and related decorative arts, NRF’s Whitehorne House Museum has been open to the public since 1974.
The museum is currently closed while we plan for a renovation of the building, a new presentation of the collection, and a much improved visitor experience. Watch this space for updates and announcements of opportunities to visit while the revitalization work progresses. And, of course, we are always open online and invite you to explore the museum by using the links above.
Residents of Newport, Middletown, and Portsmouth, Jamestown, Tiverton, and Little Compton are invited to roam around Rough Point and enjoy one of the best views in Newport free of charge.
What happens when a dovetail joint shrinks down to a few thousands of an inch? Miniatures artist Bill Robertson shares the stories and secrets of his 42-year career.
This presentation by the 1696 Heritage Group will explore how African craftsmen and women contributed to colonial Newport’s economic and cultural prosperity.
The 1696 Heritage Group invite us to see the museum and furniture collection through the lens of African artisans and their contributions to Newport’s “Golden Age.”
Celebrate the reopening of Whitehorne House Museum after a two-year rethink. A fixture on Thames Street since 1974, the museum is embarking on a new chapter.
Museum Hours The museum is open Wednesday – Sunday, 10:00 am to 4:00 pm.
Visit the only museum in the world specializing in 18th-century Newport furniture and related decorative arts. Admission to Whitehorne House Museum includes access to the museum and gardens for exploration at your own pace. Knowledgeable guides are on hand to answer questions.
Note: Whitehorne House Museum will reopen for regular house tours on Wednesday May 29, 2019.
Tickets Adults: $15.00 Students with ID: $5.00 Children 12 & under: Free
Combine Your Ticket Purchase a combined ticket to both Whitehorne House Museum and Rough Point Museum for only $25!
Guided Tours Highlights of the Museum guided tours introduce visitors to 18th-century Newport furniture and the story of early America, Newport’s role in the development of the United States, and the wider global trade system. The tour visits two floors of the museum and lasts approximately 30 minutes.
Tours are offered daily at 11:00 am and 2:00 pm. Included with admission.
Gardens One of the highlights of Whitehorne House Museum is its beautiful garden. This inviting space is filled with antique roses, blueberry bushes and fruit trees, and a dazzling array of perennials and annuals. The design is an interpretation of a Federal period garden for an affluent, urban family. Despite its refined geometry, it does not feel overly formal. From the precious balloon flower to the flamboyant castor plant, this is a garden full of delights.
Group Tours For groups larger than 10 visitors, please visit our Group Tours page.
416 Thames Street Newport, RI 401–846–4152 ext. 123 visit@newportrestoration.org
Limited metered parking available.
Painted and embroidered mourning picture on silk
Tankard by Samuel Vernon
Tea table
George Washington mantel clock
Side chair by John Townsend
Benjamin Baker Highboy
Painting on silk of two women in black outside a church with embroidered details.
A silver tankard with a tapering cylindrical barrel with molded lip and foot. It has an s-scroll handle parting from a drop motif and terminating in an oval shield. A dome cover with a spiral thumbpiece and formal bud finial cover the tankard. "LRP" is engraved on the handle and the scratchweight 29 ounces is marked on body and handle. Stamped with "SV" maker's mark on body and handle.
Commemorative clock depicting George Washington. With white enamel dial contained in a rectangular plinth surmounted by a gilt eagle with the motto "E Pluribus unum" flanked on the right by a standing figure of George Washington in military costume with inscription on swag, rectangular base with figural commemorative panel on the front of the base that depicts Washington as Cincinnatus, the famed citizen-statesman of Rome in the fifth century, B.C. The whole raised on engine turned bun feet, silk lining on interior of hinged works cover.
This is one of a pair of ball and claw foot side chairs in the Whitehorne House Museum collection, originally part of a larger set. They have served as the touchstone of what a typical Chippendale chair by John Townsend might look like. The overall effect of these chairs is one of strength. The base is particularly robust, with its boldly carved ball and claw feet and thick unchamfered rear legs joined soundly by block and ring turned stretchers; a standard feature of eighteenth-century Massachusetts and Rhode Island chairs. The arched section at the center of the crest rail is crosshatched, a favorite decorative device of Newport craftsmen. During the second half of the eighteenth century, chairs with interlaced c-scroll splats were popular with cabinetmakers along the east coast. The splats on this pair of side chairs are based on English printed prototypes, as was a common practice in each of the major colonial port cities.
Benjamin Baker was active as a very prolific chair maker in Newport from 1760, and is also known to have made clock cases, tables and case furniture that was produced primarily for export to the coastal trade. Among the many Newport characteristics found on the highboy is the use of cabriole legs with pad feet on the rear in combination with open-talon claw and ball front legs -- a Newport practice for furniture intended to stand against the wall. Another Newport trait is the elongated ball and claw foot with webless talons having an extended grip over the ball, which in this case are undercut. Of special interest is the intaglio carved petal and leaf motif decorating the knees, a feature frequently found on Newport highboys and tea tables. A focal point is the beautifully carved shell motif, also a favorite decorative device of the high style Newport cabinetmakers. Here it is further decorated at the center with a fleur-de-lys. The most unusual feature of the Whitehorne House Museum’s high chest are the three drawers in the top row of the upper case.
