Since its inception in 1945, The Preservation Society of Newport County’s collection has included many notable and important portraits. These paintings have been either directly donated by former owners of our magnificent houses or acquired as the result of careful efforts to identify and locate portraits that once graced the walls of Newport’s historic houses.

In August of 2017, the Preservation Society hosted the Portraits and Patrons Dinner Dance, celebrating and displaying both portraits currently owned by the Preservation Society, as well as those in the hands of many private collectors, long-involved with both our organization and the Newport community. 

About half of the portraits exhibited and reproduced in the evening's catalog, available to view by clicking the image below, are part of the permanent collection of The Preservation Society of Newport County. The majority of the other paintings have never been publicly viewed before, outside of private collections and their owners’ homes. Together, all these paintings represent but a fraction of the remarkable history of portraiture in our community.  

Please click on the catalog cover image below to browse through the catalog.