Duke's Rough Point mansion offers closeup view of luxury

By Chris Oliver
Advertiser Travel Writer

NEWPORT, R.I. — Chairman Mao died last month at Rough Point, Doris Duke's Newport home.

Doris Duke's mansion, Rough Point, as seen from Newport's Cliff Walk. Newport Restoration

Rough Point is, in fact, full of mementos, and not just the canine kind. Items range from 12 cherished silver trophies from Doris' childhood activities at nearby Bailey's Beach to exquisite Ming porcelain and French furniture.

Note the 18th-century painted Chinese wallpaper. Paintings by Van Dyke, Gainsborough, Reynolds and Renoir are among the art and furnishings collected by Duke and her parents and brought to Rough Point over more than six decades.

And don't forget the jewelry. Beginning next month, "Gems from the East and West: The Doris Duke Jewelry Collection" will be on view at Rough Point through Sept. 30.

The exhibit includes heirloom jewelry handed down in the family from the late 19th and early 20th centuries; her mother's jewelry, including spectacular Cartier diamond and platinum pieces; Duke's own jewelry of the 1930s and '40s, as well as some of her contemporary pieces; and selections of Asian jewelry from her extensive collection.

"The latter category is the only one that she consciously collected, with her characteristic keen aesthetic eye," said Bruce Macleish, director of collections at the Newport Restoration Foundation. "The other jewels represent family and personal history in a way one seldom sees in any museum."

Even without the elevated aesthetics of the Newport mansions circuit, Rough Point is a magnet for historians and art lovers.

"It's a unique and special place to visit because it was occupied by the Duke family for 67 years (1924-1993), and passed directly to the Newport Restoration Foundation for preservation and public tours," Macleish said.

"All the furnishings and art remain as they appeared the last time Doris Duke was here, in 1992 (she was unable to travel to Rough Point during the last year of her life). The house conveys the feeling of a very livable residence, closely tied to its place on the rock-bound coast of the Atlantic."

A domestic benefit that didn't escape Chairman Mao and his pals. Rough Point was usually home to eight or 10 dogs, and the mansion is maintaining the tradition, though in a smaller way, by keeping two visitor-friendly dogs adopted from the local shelter.

Duke generally spent time at Rough Point from spring until Thanksgiving.

Stories of her are woven into Newport history. Including the times she arrived using a seaplane that landed in Newport Harbor, until the harbormaster forbade such hair-raising flying. She later used a helicopter to fly directly to the south lawn at Rough Point, and eventually purchased "the big plane," a Boeing 737 (which did not land on the south lawn).

Her traveling arrangements occasionally caused her staff to complain of "looking like gypsies." Duke would bring along clothing, jewelry, art works, furniture, food, wine and even her favorite dogs.

Certain animals in her household, however, did not travel. For a time, Duke owned two Bactrian camels named Princess and Baby.

When she was negotiating for the purchase of her jetliner, she balked at the price, then said she would agree to it if the Arabian sellers threw in a couple of camels.

Princess and Baby lived on the oceanside lawn of the house, and under a canopy on the terrace.

"Although there are tales of llamas, giraffes and other animals living on the estate, there were two camels and nothing else, beyond the dogs," Macleish said.

The camels did spend one night in the solarium for protection during Hurricane Bob in August 1991.

Still, apocryphal tales of a zoo at Rough Point persist.