Cliff Walk Trail Marker #13

Rough Point

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Rough Point Museum features an art collection and a historic landscape that tell the story of heiress, philanthropist, and preservationist, Doris Duke (1912-1993).

Originally built for Frederick and Louise Vanderbilt in 1891, Rough Point underwent a succession of owners and renovations that shaped the building and grounds that you see today. Tobacco magnate James Buchanan Duke (1856-1925) and Nanaline Holt Inman (1871-1962) purchased Rough Point in 1922. Their daughter, Doris Duke spent summers here as a child, but made Rough Point her own starting in 1958, when she relocated her family art collection from their estate in New York to Newport. She spent time at Rough Point during an extended season (April through November) nearly every year until her death in 1993.

Doris Duke bequeathed Rough Point to the Newport Restoration Foundation (NRF) so that the estate would be open to the public as a museum. Today, NRF continues Doris Duke’s legacy by promoting and investing in the architectural heritage of the Newport community, the traditional building trades, and Doris Duke’s fine and decorative arts collection, for the enjoyment, education, and inspiration of all.

The museum is open to the public seasonally. For more information on visiting Rough Point, please visit newportrestoration.org/roughpoint.