Operating Schedule
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Guest Information
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Tours, Groups, Exclusive Experiences
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Accessibility
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History of Newport and the Mansions
Founded in 1639, Newport was an important port city, a center of the slave trade, a fashionable resort and the summer home of the Gilded Age rich.
What was the Gilded Age?
The Gilded Age was a period of unprecedented change in America. Fortunes were spent on luxuries such as the lavish "summer cottages" of Newport.
Deep Dive into the Show
Learn about the people, places and events depicted in Julian Fellowes' popular historical drama series.
“Inside the Newport Mansions” Gilded Age Conversations
Noted historians and authors share their insights into all aspects of Gilded Age America in this monthly series of interviews with the Preservation Society.
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We invite you to become a member of the Preservation Society today.
Premium Memberships
We invite you to join these exclusive levels of membership for patrons interested in enhanced access and benefits at the Preservation Society.
Current Members
As a member, you can enjoy unlimited general admission to our properties and do not need tickets. Simply bring your membership card for admission.
Membership FAQs
Membership gives you free, unlimited access to regular guided and audio tours at all Newport Mansions properties.
About Us
Our mission is to protect, preserve, and present the best of Newport County's architectural heritage. Learn more about us and our work.
Group Tour Information
Bring your adult or student group to tour the Newport Mansions at a discounted rate.
Group Visit Request Form
Please complete the request form and submit. Completing this form serves as a group visit request and is not a confirmed reservation.
Personal Photography on the Grounds
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Commercial Filming or Photography
Museum Rentals & Weddings
Host your wedding, rehearsal dinner, corporate event, or other celebration at our historic museums.
Centuries of Italian influence descended on Newport during the Gilded Age. Buildings, interiors, landscapes and art collections spread across the island, resulting in a multi-disciplinary tribute to Italian design. While Chateau-sur-Mer began as an Italianate villa, its exterior renovations reflecting French themes occurred while its interiors received Florentine treatments by the acclaimed artist Luigi Frullini. Richard Morris Hunt brought the palazzos of Renaissance Genoa to The Breakers with his colossal 1892 design for the Vanderbilts. Edward Berwind joined the trend of his peers and purchased dozens of Venetian masterpieces to line the walls and halls of The Elms.
Itinerary
8:30 am: Check in at Rosecliff and continental breakfast. 9 am – 12 pm: Morning lightning-round sessions at Rosecliff (approximately 30 minutes each with a 10-minute Q&A session following each speaker for in-person audience only). 12:05 pm – 1:10 pm: Boxed lunch. 1:10 pm – 2 pm: Final lightning-round speaker at Rosecliff (Q&A for in-person audience only) and closing remarks. 2:15 pm – 4 pm: House tours of The Breakers, Chateau-sur-Mer and The Elms (previous signup required; more information to come). 5:30 – 7 pm: Reception at Rosecliff.
Video recordings of each speaker’s presentation will be made available for in-person and virtual attendees.
Keynote Speaker: Nathaniel Silver, Associate Director and Chief Curator at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum
Italy and the American Collector: Isabella Stewart Gardner and her Gilded Age Peers Of the more than 37 countries visited by Isabella Stewart Gardner during her lifetime, she returned to Italy more frequently than anywhere else. Silver will explore Gardner's pioneering taste for Italian art, architecture and culture, how it shaped her collection and the museum she built to house it, and some of the friends and colleagues who helped her bring the Renaissance to life in Boston. This talk will further address Gardner's contemporaries, showing the breadth of their intersecting interests in Italy. Bio: Nathaniel Silver is the Associate Director and Chief Curator at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston. He has 15 years of experience in fine art museums and cultural institutions including The Frick Collection, J. Paul Getty Museum, Center for Advanced Study in the Visual Arts and as executive director and CEO at Hancock Shaker Village. In his previous role at the Gardner as the William and Lia Poorvu Curator of the Collection and Division Head, Silver oversaw Collections, Conservation and Archives and curated or co-curated more than a dozen exhibitions. These include the acclaimed Titian: Women, Myth, and Power and Boston’s Apollo: Thomas McKeller and John Singer Sargent. He holds a Ph.D. in art history from University College London.
Catherine Hess, Former Curator of Sculpture and Decorative Arts at the Getty Museum and former Chief Curator of European Art at The Huntington Museum
The Lure of Italy: The Case of Gilded Age Newport and Chateau-sur-Mer Just before and after the turn of the 20th century, American men and women of great means developed a taste for Italian art and furnishings of the past. Their motives can be explained by a complex mixture of yearning, discernment and insecurity. The material and ideas they brought back to the U.S. impacted the art market, collecting and, indeed, the definition of sophistication for many decades. In Newport, George and Edith Wetmore engaged Luigi Frullini, a brilliant wood carver from Florence, to create a masterpiece of furniture and interior elements for Chateau-sur-Mer's library and dining room. Hess will examine the Wetmores’ selection of Frullini as a vivid, lasting example of Gilded Age Italophilia. Bio: Catherine Hess was a curator of sculpture and decorative arts at the Getty Museum, LA, from 1984 to 2008 and then served as chief curator of European art at The Huntington Museum from 2008 to 2020. She also was director of a small art school for underserved young adults until 2023. In her curatorial work, she published, lectured about and produced exhibitions on European glass, ceramics, furniture and sculpture. She attended the Museum Leadership Institute at Claremont Graduate University and served on the National Endowment for the Art Indemnity Panel in Washington, D.C. She believes that the craft of art can be a source of profound inspiration, delight and knowledge.
Sarah Cartwright, Chief Curator and Ulla R. Searing Curator of Collections at The John & Mable Ringling Museum of Art
Fundament and Fantasy: Italian Renaissance Inspiration at The Breakers By examining specific examples, both small and large, Cartwright will consider some of the ways that elements of Italian Renaissance architecture, design and decoration were reinterpreted at The Breakers, the massive Newport summer residence of Cornelius Vanderbilt II and family, designed by Richard Morris Hunt and completed in 1895. Of particular interest will be the contrast in the home’s design between architectural clarity and elaborate ornamentation, as well as the variety of all’antica (classicizing) visions the home conveys. Bio: Sarah Cartwright is Chief Curator and Ulla R. Searing Curator of Collections at The Ringling. She has a PhD in Art History and Archaeology from the Institute of Fine Arts, New York University. Prior to her arrival at The Ringling in 2013, Cartwright was a research associate at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, a Mellon Postdoctoral Fellow at Columbia University and a curator at Villa La Pietra in Florence, Italy. At The Ringling, Cartwright is responsible for the museum’s collection of European and American paintings, sculpture and works on paper from antiquity to 1900 CE. She has published and presented on a wide array of subjects, ranging from Italian manuscript illumination to ancient carved gemstones to the 19th-century French painter Rosa Bonheur. Recent projects at The Ringling have included curating the exhibition Shinique Smith: PARADE and co-curating the international loan exhibition Guercino’s Friar with a Gold Earring: Fra Bonaventura Bisi, Painter and Art Dealer and co-authoring its catalogue.
Charles Birnbaum, President + CEO, The Cultural Landscape Foundation
The Influence of the Italian Villa Landscape on Garden Design and Landscape Preservation in America The Italian Villa landscape has been celebrated in America since the turn of the last century. Since the publication of Charles Platt’s Italian Gardens (1894), there has been a succession of popular books aimed at America’s quest for beauty and antiquity. Birnbaum’s presentation will explore the period from 1890 through the 1930s when Americans had a thirst for Italian Villa landscapes. Although much has been written about these built works, little attention has been paid on the early American Academy in Rome (AAR) fellows and the Italian influences they imported to the U.S. This presentation will explore the palimpsest of historic preservation and design decisions made at iconic Italian Villas and Gardens, as recorded by early AAR Fellows in Landscape Architecture as part of their documentation plans, planting plans, regional surveys, illustrative landscape “restoration” and “reconstruction” plans. Bio: Prior to serving as The Cultural Landscape Foundation President + CEO, Birnbaum spent 15 years with the National Park Service and a decade in private practice in New York City. Birnbaum was a Loeb Fellow at Harvard’s Graduate School of Design and a Rome Prize recipient. He was awarded American Society of Landscape Architects’ LaGasse Medal (2008), President’s Medal (2009), the ASLA Medal (2018) and the Olmsted Medal (2023). He served as a Lecturer in Landscape Architecture at Harvard’s Graduate School of Design (2020-); Visiting Professor, Columbia University’s Graduate School of Architecture (2011-16); and Glimcher Distinguished Professor, Ohio State (2007). In 2021, The Cultural Landscape Foundation unveiled The Oberlander International Prize in Landscape Architecture, a permanently endowed prize with a $100,000 purse.
Kerry Shrives, Senior Vice President and Senior Appraiser at Bonhams Skinner
Kerry Shrives and Leslie Jones, Director of Museum Affairs and Chief Curator at the Preservation Society, will join in conversation to discuss The Elms. While the 1901 mansion is styled after a French chateau, Italian influence permeates its interior, with the Dining Room in particular paying spectacular homage to Venice. In 1962, before the Preservation Society purchased the property, many of the items in the collection were sold at auction, and it is an ongoing process to track down and reacquire many of these pieces. Kerry and Leslie’s discussion will touch on some of the works of art that have been restored to The Elms over the years, their significance to the art historical canon, and the reason they would have been coveted by collectors in the Gilded Age and the mid-20th century. They will also discuss the impact of having them restored to The Elms. Bio: Kerry Shrives is a Senior Vice President and Senior Appraiser at Bonhams Skinner. She has over 30 years of experience appraising, cataloging, and selling furniture, decorative art, and fine art from the 17th to the 21st centuries. Kerry has been a frequent contributor to Antiques Roadshow and has provided commentary on the antiques and art market for print and digital news channels, including The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, CNN, ABC, Bloomberg, and The Guardian. She is a Certified Member of the Appraisers Association of America and maintains current requirements for the Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice (USPAP). Kerry has handled such significant property as the rediscovery and sale of Fitz Hugh Lane's Sunset at Gloucester Harbor for $3.3 million – a world record for the artist and a record for a painting sold at an American auction outside of New York. She also has broad experience with single-owner sales, including the Solomon Collection of Judaica, which brought $1.5 million. Her focus on the intersection of antiques and technology drove the successful transformation of Skinner into a digital business. As a generalist appraiser, she assists clients by providing appraisal reports for estate tax, financial planning and equitable distribution, and insurance purposes.
Chateau-sur-Mer Dining Room with wood carvings by Luigi Frullini (Florentine, 1839-1897)
Chateau-sur-er wood carvings (detail) by Luigi Frullini (Florentine, 1839-1897)
The Breakers Great Hall, designed 1892 by Richard Morris Hunt
Ceiling of The Breakers Great Hall
The Breakers Upper Loggia, designed 1892 by Richard Morris Hunt
Bust of Roman Emperor Caracalla in The Elms Dining Room, late 19th century, unknown Italian artist
The Elms Dining Room with 18th-century Venetian paintings of the life of Scipio Africanus
Explore the underground systems that made this great house a marvel of technology for its time. Tour times may vary. See the event webpage for details.
For the first time in the 130-year history of The Breakers, the private third-floor family space occupied by generations of Vanderbilts is open for public tours. Tour times may vary. See the event webpage for details.
The Preservation Society of Newport County is getting into the Spirit of 2026 with an insightful exhibition, theatrical performances bringing Newport’s Revolutionary history to life, programs for children and a series of lectures by leading voices in the field of American history and arts.
To mark the U.S. Semiquincentennial, "Revolution Reimagined: Evolving Stories from Newport’s Past" explores Newport’s vital role in the American Revolution through the lens of myth and memory. Exhibition is included with admission to Rosecliff.
Learn about our latest exhibition, “Revolution Reimagined: Evolving Stories from Newport’s Past,” with a guided tour led by one of the primary collaborators on the exhibition. Offered on select dates.
Stop by and get creative — all ages and ability levels welcome. Learn a little piece of history and try your hand at being creative. Offered on select Saturdays at Rosecliff; see event webpage for details.
Curator of Collections Dr. Nicole Williams provides an in-depth look at the inspiration behind our current exhibition.
Join Jeff Curtis, Director of Gardens & Landscapes, for a guided tree walk of Rovensky Park.
Newport County residents are invited to visit the Newport Mansions as our guests.
Three days of fun and educational seminars, tastings, dinners and the fan-favorite Sunday Brunch await you at Rosecliff! Seminar schedule and tickets now available!
Hosted by Rhum Clement & Chairman’s Reserve with presenter Ben Jones, explore how terroir, sugar cane, oak, and tropical aging shape the character of rums from Martinique and Saint Lucia. Each expression is thoughtfully paired with handcrafted chocolates from Gansett Craft Chocolate, Rhode Island's first bean-to-bar chocolate maker, creating a sensory journey that reveals the influence of place, climate, and craftsmanship in every sip and bite. Please click the seminar title or image to see more information about this event.
Discover the spirit of Saint-Estèphe through a guided tasting of two distinctive Bordeaux châteaux: Cos d’Estournel, a Second Growth, and Cos Labory, a Fifth Growth, both owned by Michel Reybier. Through a selection of wines across different vintages, explore their rich history, their philosophy, the unique terroir of Cos, and the pursuit of excellence that shapes their wines — all in a relaxed and approachable way. Please click the seminar title or image to see more information about this event.
Join Ted Satinsky, part of the Fine Wine/Joseph Phelps team at Moet Hennessey, to explore the depth and elegance of Phelps Wines, a true benchmark in California winemaking. Please click the seminar title or image to see more information about this event.
Discover the story of two people, a courageous family and a shared passion for beautiful wine. Please click the seminar title or image to see more information about this event.
More than a Champagne House, Maison Pommery embodies a pioneering vision where heritage, innovation and art meet, continuing Madame Pommery’s spirit of breaking conventions and creating new experiences around Champagne. Please click the seminar title or image to see more information about this event.
Red drinkers only permitted! This is not for the faint of heart or palate! If BIG, RICH, RARE and RED is what you crave and collect, don't miss this one-of-a-kind experience! Please click the seminar title or image to see more information about this event.
Join Chris and Nelly Saraiva, founders of Brands of Portugal, as they reimagine how you taste Portuguese wine. While Portugal is steeped in centuries of Old-World history, a bold new generation of winemakers is reshaping its future, combining deep tradition with fresh, modern vision. Please click the seminar title or image to see more information about this event.
SOLD OUT
Join us for the RIEDEL Wine Glass Experience, an immersive wine tasting that demonstrates the remarkable impact glassware has on wine enjoyment. Includes a set of RIEDEL Veloce wine glasses, valued at $198. Please click the seminar title or image to see more information about this event.
Explore the history and vision of Connecticut's premiere craft distillery. You'll taste Litchfield's 5-Year Straight Bourbon Whiskey, 6-Year Double-Barreled Bourbon, and Port Cask Finished Bourbon (a Double-Platinum Winner at the ASCOT Awards) as you learn firsthand how Litchfield transforms Connecticut-Grown grains into nationally acclaimed spirits. Please click the seminar title or image to see more information about this event.
This seminar celebrates a historic milestone in California winemaking history: Tim Mondavi’s 50th consecutive vintage. This exclusive event centers around the highly anticipated release of the 2023 Continuum. Please click the seminar title or image to see more information about this event.
This seminar will explore the Gagliardo Barolo wine style and philosophy, highlighting their Classico and three spectacular Cru wines out of the seven they produce. Please click the seminar title or image to see more information about this event.
Beckstoffer Vineyards has played an integral role in the evolution of Northern California’s wine grape industry since 1970. They are dedicated solely to acquiring, farming, and preserving vineyards that produce exceptional wine grapes in Northern California’s top wine-producing areas. Wines produced from these vineyards historically on average receive scores between 90 and 100 points. Sip alongside fellow enthusiasts to uncover the vision, history, and meticulous craftsmanship that define these world-class, premium releases. Please click the seminar title or image to see more information about this event.
Embark on a captivating journey along the Pacific coastline in this exclusive tasting seminar exploring the exquisite intersection of terroir, wind and fog across three world-class wine regions. Please click the seminar title or image to see more information about this event.
Seeking wines no one else can get? You can't find these in restaurants or stores!! Quigley Wines is opening their cellar vault to give you a boutique wine experience like no other! Please click the seminar title or image to see more information about this event.
Three extraordinary terroirs. Five wines. More than two centuries of family winemaking tradition. Join Pablo Nyárády for an intimate masterclass exploring how a family winemaking legacy dating to 1820 finds expression across three remarkably different places: Napa Valley, the rugged Fort Ross-Seaview appellation of the Sonoma Coast, and the historic vineyards of Tokaj, Hungary. Please click the seminar title or image to see more information about this event.
A tour through the world’s best Sakes from Komé Collective, paired with a signature dish from James Beard Nominated & Star Chefs "Rising Star", Chef Basil Yu from Yagi Noodles, Newport RI. Please click the seminar title or image to see more information about this event.
From a career that spans living in Burgundy and selling wine in high-end auctions, to running a boutique wine shop in Manhattan, to becoming the largest female owned and run wine import company in the US, Mary Taylor has a boatload of stories to tell. Her wine label "Mary Taylor Wine" is geared to showcase wine from the perspective of ‘place.' This side-by-side tasting will be a fun and joyous learning experience. Please click the seminar title or image to see more information about this event.
Guests attending this Charcuterie Artisan presentation will learn how to build the perfect charcuterie board by mastering flavor, texture, presentation, and wine pairings. Discover how to balance ingredients and create combinations that make every bite better. Please click the seminar title or image to see more information about this event.
The Mid-Autumn Festival, also known as the Moon Festival or Mooncake Festival, is a 3,000-year-old tradition from China that celebrates togetherness. We invite you to a family program celebrating this festival on the grounds of Marble House near the Chinese Tea House.
In an exclusive for our members, Director of Museum Affairs & Chief Curator Leslie Jones and ChiefConservator Patty Miller will give a wide-ranging update on the state of the Preservation Society collections.
This November, the Newport Symposium offers a series of lectures and tours examining the origins and legacy of art, architecture, landscape and design in the United States. Registration is now open.
Download our tour app before your visit and bring your earbuds.
Parking is free onsite at all properties except for Hunter House and The Breakers Stable & Carriage House, where street parking is available.
Answers to some of our most frequently asked questions.
Explore the 11 properties under the stewardship of the Preservation Society and open as historic house museums.
Partners in Preservation
Morph Hospitality
Author, “Flavors of my World” & “Chaat” Two-time “Tournament of Champions” winner, “Chopped” judge, Food Network’s “BBQ Brawl”
CKD Productions & Newport Mansions Wine & Food Festival Culinary Director
Author, “Beyond My Chef Coat” Food Network’s “Beat Bobby Flay” and “Great Food Truck Race,” “Today” Show, NBC “Celebrity Cooking Showdown” winner
Sparrow Restaurant, New Milford, Connecticut
Four time “Chopped” champion, Food Network’s “Tournament of Champions,” “Guy’s Grocery Games”
Sift Bake Shop, Mix, ATY Bar & Bonbons
Author, “Sift Cookbook” Best Baker in America, Food Network; Best Pastry Chef in Connecticut, Connecticut Restaurant Association; Food Network’s “Chopped Sweets” judge
