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.
Newport Restoration Foundation’s Whitehorne House Museum is the only museum in the world dedicated to displaying and exploring the artistry, history, and culture of 18th-century Newport furniture and related decorative arts. The museum, located at 416 Thames Street in Newport, has been closed for regular visits since October 2016 to allow NRF staff to plan for a reinterpretation of the collection and an improved visitor experience. The museum will reopen to guests starting May 29, and will remain open this season until October 27.
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.
Dining table by John Townsend
George Washington mantel clock
19th-century watercolor showing John Goddard’s house and workshop
Carver Chair with braided cornhusk seat
Portrait of Rebecca Taylor Orne by Joseph Badger
Porringer by John Otis
The Whitehorne House Museum’s oval dining table is one of only two known labeled dining tables made by John Townsend. This dining table is an example of the type of architectural furnishings considered to be necessary in 18th-century dining spaces. This graceful neo-classical oval table retains the functionality of its predecessors as it can separate into a table and two consoles for alternate uses or storage. The plinths above each leg are decorated with four undulating vertical blocks or “book inlay,” a feature associated with the workshop of John Townsend. On the legs is a string of five bellflowers centering a spine of black inlay, and, characteristic of John Townsend’s work, the bellflowers rest above two inlaid dots. Pasted on the center of one of the back rails of one of the consoles is a rectangular engraved label reading MADE BY / JOHN TOWNSEND, / NEWPORT. with the date 1796 written by hand.
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.
Watercolor painting depicting John Goddard's house in the Easton's Point neighborhood of Newport, RI. The composition includes two houses and dock scene with beach. Written in pencil script, bottom right corner: Old Newport houses, 1865. In bottom left corner, in pencil: S.C.
This armchair is one of a group of three that demonstrates a strong Dutch influence on some of the earliest furniture made in Newport, RI. It also speaks to connections, perhaps less well known, with local Native American craft production. Unique to the Whitehorne example is the braided cornhusk seat, possibly woven by local Wampanoag or Narragansett weavers. This is an unusual feature found in other early chairs associated with Little Compton, which remained a fairly isolated agricultural outpost into the twentieth century but had early ties through families such as the Browns, who owned this chair, to nearby Aquidneck Island and the urban centers of Portsmouth and Newport, as well as to local Native American craftsmen. The red paint with gold decoration dates to the Victorian period; it covers a layer of blue paint, date unknown, but also not likely original.
