The Preservation Society has been working hard to put together a new exhibition at Rosecliff for this fall and winter.  Newport & Her Southern Sisters: Three Centuries of Art & Design, will be showcased on the second floor of Rosecliff and is included as a part of the regular mansion tour.  It will be on display and open for visitors starting on September 5th, ending on January 3rd.  This exhibition will take guests on a three century long journey exploring the relationship between Newport and the South.

Through trade, tourism and marriage, Newport and the South have formed a close bond throughout time.   Southern woman who married northern gentlemen helped create the Newport that we know today – a New England resort town filled will opulent mansions, history and sailing.

Southern Sisters will cover four different time frames including: the colonial period, the antebellum period, the post Civil War era & the Gilded Age, and the early 20th century.  The Colonial period will be represented with items such as an 18th Century Mahogany chest which will be displayed in two pieces (the way it would have been stored on a ship being sent to a southern market).  The Antebellum exhibit will be a parlor showing how boarding houses paved the way for hotels and eventually private cottages built by Southerners in a Post-Civil War Newport.  The 20th century exhibit will focus on Newporters looking for warm inspiration from the style of Palm Beach.

Items on display in the Southern Sisters exhibition include never before seen ballgowns, portraits, silver, and furniture.  Items showcased will be from the Preservation Society’s collections and houses as well as from other museums and private collections with ties to Newport and the South.