In the Landscape, Gardens & Collections of Rough Point
This rocky, windswept corner of the Atlantic coast has been fittingly known as “Rough Point” for more than three centuries, and largely due to its underlying, rugged beauty, it remains one of the most attractive Newport landscapes to this day. Each of Rough Point’s five owners from 1887 to the present introduced features, however, that “tamed” natural elements to meet their needs and interests, leaving some parts of the estate more formal, others even more picturesque. Nature Tamed explored the history of these interventions, beginning with Frederick Law Olmsted’s original 1887 survey and ending with information about the preservation and care of the grounds and gardens by the Newport Restoration Foundation.
Alongside the history of the landscape and its maintenance this exhibition included a selection of nature-inspired fine arts, furnishings, and fashion from the collections of Doris Duke. Duke’s love for the natural world can still be seen in her three properties now open to the public – Duke Farms in Somerville, New Jersey, Shangri La in Honolulu, and Rough Point – and in funding for the protection of the environment made possible by the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation.
