Rough Point

Rough Point was the Newport home that Doris Duke—collector and philanthropist—inherited from her father James Buchannan Duke, the benefactor of Duke University. Located on exclusive Bellevue Avenue in Newport, RI, Rough Point commands a sweeping ocean view with expansive grounds designed by renowned landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted. Ms. Duke’s Will required the home, significantly remodeled by Horace Trumbauer, be converted into a house museum and opened to the public. Vitetta wrote the master plan for this transformation and designed special exhibition galleries in the staff wing and system modernizations and improvements for the entire house for the Newport Restoration Foundation. Our plan focused on a set of improvements that would be “invisible” to view, so that the public would enjoy an authentic interpretation of the magnificent oceanfront estate, still decorated as Ms. Duke left it with European art, Chinese porcelains, and Flemish tapestries. The special exhibition galleries feature annual exhibits from Ms. Duke’s collections including couture, family memorabilia and fine and decorative arts.