A Publication of The Preservation Society of Newport County - Summer 2017 NO. 180 - Newport Mansions
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A Publication of The Preservation Society of Newport County Summer 2017 • NO. 180
Summer 2017 1
Fête des Fleurs:
Paintings and Parterres
The 2017 Newport Flower Show celebrated all things French in June. Special guests Flower Show Chair Pat Fernandez and
included fashion icon Iris Apfel and celebrity floral designer Jeff Leatham. her husband Michael with Iris Apfel
The Bartlett family celebrates Bartlett Tree Experts' many years as Presenting Sponsor
of The Newport Flower Show.
2 Summer 2017
Summer 2017 • NO. 180
Contents
page
2-3 The Newport Flower Show
4 The Cutting Edge
5 Restoring Paradise
6 Welcome Center Construction Begins
7 Restoring the Marble House Landscape
8-11 Pierre Cardin Fashions
12-13 Solving a Rosecliff Mystery
14 Dubé-Scherr Joins Staff
14 Gentlemen's Farms
15 Planting Beech Trees
16 A New Partner in Preservation
Above: 17 Calendar
A flower show floral display.
Front cover:
18 Remembering Jerry Slocum
A summer evening at Rosecliff.
The Newport Gazette
A Publication of The Preservation
Our Mission
Society of Newport County
Great Houses connect people to a nation’s heritage and open windows to another
Editor: Andrea Carneiro
Design: Roskelly.com age. The Preservation Society of Newport County is a non-profit organization
Printing: Meridian Printing
whose mission is to protect, preserve, and present an exceptional collection of house
©2017 The Preservation Society of Newport County
museums and landscapes in one of the most historically intact cities in America.
424 Bellevue Avenue, Newport RI 02840
(401) 847-1000 We hold in public trust the Newport Mansions® which are an integral part of the
living fabric of Newport, Rhode Island. These sites exemplify three centuries of the
See the Newport Gazette in full color
as a flip book on-line at finest achievements in American architecture, decorative arts, and landscape design
www.NewportMansions.org
spanning the Colonial era to the Gilded Age. Through our historic properties,
educational programs, and related activities we engage the public in the story of
Thank you to our Donors
for their charitable contributions to the America’s vibrant cultural heritage. We seek to inspire and promote an appreciation
Preservation Society’s mission
of the value of preservation to enrich the lives of people everywhere.
Accredited by the American Alliance of Museums
Become a Facebook friend of
The Preservation Society of Newport County
www.facebook.com/NewportMansions
Summer 2017 3
But we are far from finished at The Breakers.
We have launched The Breakers Initiative to advance our invest-
ment in this National Historic Landmark. Led by Donald O. Ross,
Elizabeth Wright McMillen, Mary Van Pelt and Dayton T. Carr,
this multi-million dollar fundraising effort will see the completion
of the new geothermal climate control system to protect and preserve
the collection; final construction of the welcome center; and the first
phase of a comprehensive, multi-year landscape rehabilitation.
Based on extensive research of the history of The Breakers and a
Cultural Landscape Report by landscape architects Reed Hilderbrand
and Robinson Associates, we have learned that the landscape at The
Breakers is quite unique. Our intention is to reunite the 13-acre site
to the mansion as intended in the 1896 design by Ernest W. Bowditch,
who also designed Tuxedo Park in New York, Shaker Heights in
Ohio and Jamestown’s Shoreby Hill in Rhode Island.
The His design for the original Breakers, destroyed by fire in 1892,
was an English picturesque parkland, connecting it to two adjacent
Cutting Edge
properties, Vinland and Wakehurst, via a series of meandering
paths. The "new" Breakers, designed by Richard Morris Hunt and
completed in 1895, was far larger and grander, thus requiring a
more formal landscape.
Bowditch created a Renaissance-derived Beaux Arts landscape,
by Trudy Coxe, CEO & Executive Director including parterre garden terraces and the straight, cross-axial
approach drives to the front entrance. The earlier perimeter
As this issue of the Newport Gazette goes to press, all of us at landscape, employing canopy trees and understory plantings to
the Preservation Society are catching our collective breath after a define expansive lawns and create a sense of isolation and privacy,
whirlwind first half of 2017. And we are hip-deep into a whole new was retained. The serpentine path was transformed to frame the
set of priorities and initiatives that will carry us into 2018. mansion, with carefully planned views.
It's already been a memorable year. Capping a multi-year Today, the landscape’s vitally important interpretive connection
public-private collaboration, we celebrated the removal of the to the house has been lost. Our plan to rehabilitate the landscape
unsightly utility poles in Middletown's Paradise Valley, restoring that will allow our visitors to experience The Breakers in the context
historic landscape. We also mounted a major 70-year retrospective that Bowditch, Hunt and Vanderbilt always intended.
exhibition of Pierre Cardin fashions at Rosecliff in the space of just
three months - something that normally takes two to three years to In the first phase of this comprehensive project, the entrance drive
plan and execute. To introduce the exhibition, for the first time plantings and walkways will be restored and a safe, well-defined exit
ever we hosted a full-fledged, Paris-quality runway show of pathway from the lower level of the mansion created to ensure the
M. Cardin's fashions in the Great Hall of The Breakers. And visitor experience begins and ends graciously. Initial restoration of
once again, the Newport Flower Show Committee set new standards the original serpentine path, severely degraded by the 1938 hurricane,
of excellence with our best show ever, Fêtes des Fleurs, celebrating will connect both sides of the main entrance drive, invite museum
all things French! guests into "garden rooms" and allow them to meander through
varied natural spaces with views of the mansion.
That's not all. An Edible Schoolyard program, based on a
national model, brought children from schools around Aquidneck These are exciting and expensive projects. You will hear more
Island to Green Animals to learn about sustainability. We restored about The Breakers Initiative in the coming months, but I wanted to
The Breakers boiler room and introduced a new Beneath The give you a preview. We have accomplished much over this past year,
Breakers Tour. and our work is never done.
4 Summer 2017
This landscape evokes the unique scenic character of this community
by Kaity Ryan, Preservation Policy Manager
As we enjoy the bright sunshine and sailboats of summertime on On May 12, we welcomed U.S. Senators Jack Reed and Sheldon
Aquidneck Island, we also celebrate another harbinger of summer Whitehouse to the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service's Sachuest Point
that can, for the first time in over a century, be seen and enjoyed as National Wildlife Refuge to celebrate the culmination of this
it was when the likes of artists John Frederick Kensett and William five-year effort to increase coastal resiliency, enhance pedestrian
Trost Richards drew inspiration from it: Sachuest in Middletown. safety, and improve the utility infrastructure of one of Rhode Island’s
With a national wildlife area, a private nature sanctuary, beloved special places. Joining the Senators were the President and Chief
town beaches and sweeping vistas, the Sachuest area - the heart of Operating Officer of National Grid Rhode Island, Timothy Horan;
Paradise Valley - ranks as one of Rhode Island’s most scenic places. Northeast Region Chief of the National Wildlife Refuge System
It is rich in cultural, natural, ecological, and economic value. of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Scott Kahan; Middletown
Town Council President Robert Sylvia and his fellow Councilors;
When the Preservation Society teamed up with the Aquidneck Mrs. John A. "Happy" van Beuren of the van Beuren Charitable
Land Trust, Preserve Rhode Island, and van Beuren Charitable Foundation, key contributors to the project; and dozens of community
Foundation in 2012 to envision ways in which we might collaborate supporters. The celebration concluded with a ceremonial removal
to improve Aquidneck Island, we could not have imagined the of the last remaining utility pole, which was met with enthusiastic
success that the partnership would bring. Not only were we able to cheers and clapping from the audience.
raise more than $1.2 million in funding to bury nearly two miles of
power and communications lines and remove 22 utility poles along Whether you know it as Second Beach or Sachuest or just
Sachuest Point Road; we were also able to forge critical relationships your favorite place to take a walk, bike, or swim, this landscape
with the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, Town of Middletown, evokes the unique scenic character of this community. It now
National Grid, Norman Bird Sanctuary, and St. George’s School. also demonstrates the impact of collaboration. We invite you to
This collateral benefit will serve each of our organizations as we visit it with fresh eyes.
continue working – independently and collaboratively – to improve
Aquidneck Island for residents and visitors alike.
Summer 2017 5
Curt Genga, William Landry, Lynn Ceglie, Michael Behan, Donald Ross, Monty Burnham, Alan Joslin, William Wilson,
Sam Frank, Doug Reed, Terry Dickinson, John Grove, Trudy Coxe.
Construction is Underway on the Welcome Center
by Andrea Carneiro, Communications Manager
On May 18, in a ceremony attended by more than 250 friends and supporters, the
Preservation Society broke ground for construction of a new welcome center at The Breakers.
Behan Bros. of Newport is the general contractor on the project, which is expected to be
completed in time for the main tourist season next summer.
The welcome center will provide visitor amenities, including
ticketing, accessible restrooms, and light refreshments for
ticketed visitors and Preservation Society members.
Said Trustee William Wilson, chairman of the welcome
center sub-committee of the Board of Trustees, "Preservation
is about the public, and this building is going to be for the
public. It will make us really better at the hospitality business
because this will be our front door. It's not just about tickets,
toilets and tea. It's really a statement of wanting people to be
engaged when they are here, and this building will do that.
It will say something about who the PS is, and also what
Newport is about."
Michael J. Behan of Behan Bros. told the crowd, "I am
humbled to be with this project in one of our city's, our state's,
and our nation's most historic landmarks. We sincerely
understand the significance of the task ahead, and look
forward to bringing the Preservation Society's vision to life."
Over the past four years, the project was reviewed and approved by the Rhode Island
Historical Preservation & Heritage Commission, the Newport Historic District Commission,
the Newport Zoning Board of Review and the Newport Planning Board. Those approvals
were affirmed by the Newport County Superior Court and the Rhode Island Supreme Court.
6 Summer 2017
A New (Old) Look at Marble House
by Jeff Curtis, Director of Gardens & Grounds
Any time we have to remove an old tree on one of our
properties, it’s not an easy decision to make. Many factors are
considered, but paramount to all is public safety. The most recent
example is at Marble House, where last year we had to remove three
beech trees on the front lawn because of their physical condition.
One was completely dead, the
second was over 90% dead and
the third was over 50% dead.
All three trees posed an extreme
hazard to the public. But with
this problem came an opportunity.
Once the decision was made
that the trees had to come down,
it presented a perfect opportunity
to restore the front yard to its
original condition. None of the
three trees that were removed was
original to the landscape. The two
trees which remain are original.
The landscape restoration
project at Marble House included
the installation of an irrigation
system and the creation of a
grass-covered walkway, with
special pavers under the lawn to
maintain stability. The effect was
to open up the magnificent view
of the front entrance of the house
from the street, as it was originally
designed to be seen.
But we weren't done. The hedgerow along the south border We are grateful for the continued support of the Prince
of the property, from Bellevue Avenue all the way to the Chinese Charitable Trusts, which has funded much of the Preservation
Tea House, needed a complete overhaul. The work will be done Society's landscape work since 1988, when Bartlett Tree Experts
in phases, over four years. With funding support from the Prince was first hired to conduct a comprehensive tree inventory of all
Charitable Trusts, we started the job in March of this year. A number our properties. Over the years we have worked closely together on
of Norway maples, which had been planted in the period between many landscape projects, and I look forward to partnering with the
two major hurricanes in 1938 and 1954, were removed. The one tree Trusts for many years to come.
that remains is a large American sweetgum. Newly planted trees
include two European beech, two American elm and two sweetgum.
Rhododendrons which had been removed were also replanted in their
original location.
Summer 2017 7
Monty Burnham, Rodrigo Basilicati and Maryse Gaspard
Pierre Cardin
Runway Show
Sparkles at
The Breakers
by Andrea Carneiro, Communications Manager
Legendary fashion designer Pierre Cardin created a spectacular runway show for
the Preservation Society in mid-June, featuring 90 looks that demonstrated the
range of his work and highlighted some of his most admired projects.
Unable to attend personally as planned because of a fall, M. Cardin sent his closest
confidantes in his place to oversee the show in the Great Hall of The Breakers. They
Photos by Getty Images
included Director of Haute Couture Maryse Gaspard, Creative Director (and nephew)
Rodrigo Basilicati, and Matthew Gonder, a close friend and headliner at Maxim's
Restaurant in Paris (owned by M. Cardin), who emceed the runway show.
Following the show, guests enjoyed a champagne reception on the loggia, including
a birthday cake to celebrate M. Cardin's 95th birthday, and signed cards that were sent
to M. Cardin in Paris.
8 Summer 2017
Don & Jana Jagoe and Rodrigo Basilicati
Elizabeth Leatherman, Eaddo Kiernan,
Bill Leatherman and Peter Kiernan
Summer 2017 9
by Ashley Householder
Curator of Exhibitions
Currently on exhibition in the second floor galleries at Rosecliff is
Pierre Cardin: 70 Years of Innovation, celebrating the talent and vision
of one of the world’s most recognized and successful fashion designers.
The exhibition features 42 original fashion examples from
M. Cardin’s private archives comprising his most iconic designs,
including the 1960s space-age looks from the Cosmocorps collection,
unisex jumpsuits created for the 1972 Munich Olympics, and the
technologically-advanced Cardine dress, made of thermo-formed
fabric, that was worn by Lauren Bacall in 1968. The looks on view
truly represent his prolific career and range in date from the 1950s
to his 2016 spring/summer collection.
Pierre Cardin (b. 1922) is a product of immediate post-WWII
possibilities and his designs continue to reflect his engagement with
a changing world. Beginning with his haute couture work with
Christian Dior in 1946, he helped develop the ‘New Look’ that would
forever change mid-twentieth-century fashions. Just four years later
Cardin founded his own company, and in 1959, broke with tradition
by presenting a ready-to-wear women’s collection. This was a
Photos by CorbettPhotography.net
10 Summer 2017tremendous feat given that custom-fitted clothing for wealthy patrons
ruled the great Parisian fashion houses at this time. Cardin was a
pioneer in making high fashion accessible to a larger audience.
Greatly influenced by the space race of the 1960s, Cardin produced
some of his most memorable designs during this period, became the
only person to appear in Neil Armstrong’s original space suit from
the 1969 moonwalk and went on to design space suits for NASA.
A creative visionary with tremendous ingenuity, his designs have
been worn by some of the most glamorous and influential women
in the world, including Jackie Kennedy, Brigitte Bardot, Charlotte
Rampling and Jeanne Moreau.
In addition to fashion, M. Cardin’s interests have extended
to art, architecture and furniture design. He has an extensive
collection of art by French Belle Époque caricaturist Georges
Goursat, also known as SEM, some of which are on view in the
exhibition. Complimenting the artwork is a vignette from Maxim’s,
the storied Parisian Belle Époque restaurant that M. Cardin has
honored through ownership since 1981.
The exhibition will be on view through January 1, 2018.
Summer 2017 11Solving a Mystery
at Rosecliff
The stor y of a debt,
a Boston murder
and a love of roses
by Jim Donahue
Curator of Historic Landscapes Dr. George Parkman, "The Pedestrian"
When a generous donor offered to fund It wasn’t that Eliza Parkman but it is the Webster's trial in 1850 was the first to rely
the renovation of Rosecliff’s rose garden, I very same family. The parcel was owned by on criminal forensics, the identification of
set about looking for more information on Francis Parkman’s Aunt Eliza and the story Parkman’s dentures and body parts providing
the site’s history. I knew the current building of how the widow Parkman and her two chil- circumstantial evidence leading to Webster’s
took its name from an earlier home built for dren ended up living on the front acreage of conviction. Webster confessed to the crime
noted 19th century historian and diplomat Rosecliff is tied to roses - and one of the most before being hanged in August of that year.
George Bancroft, whose avocation was his notorious murder trials of the 19th century.
famous rose garden on the Cliff Walk. My The murder of a Boston blueblood by
hope was to research which roses Bancroft In late1849, Francis Parkman’s uncle a Harvard professor created a sensation,
grew, with the intention of reintroducing Dr. George Parkman, scion of one of and with the constant press attention Eliza
them as part of the garden’s refresh. A trip Boston’s most prominent families, sold Parkman and her children needed to get out
to The Massachusetts Historical Society, one of his many land holdings to his alma of town.
where Bancroft’s papers are archived, mater, Harvard, for construction of its new
uncovered a number of 1869-70 invoices medical college. Enter Dr. John Webster, George Bancroft started summering at his
from rose nurseries in the US and Europe. professor of chemistry and mineralogy at newly built cottage,’ Rose Clyffe’, in 1852.
Bancroft ordered over 600 roses from France Harvard Medical College, and deeply in According to Preservation Society Curator
for his Newport garden in one shipment debt to George Parkman for $2000 – equal Paul Miller, Bancroft sold his front acreage
alone! But then I happened upon another to almost $60,000 today. It seems Professor to local builder Abraham T. Peckham in
document that piqued my interest. Webster was socializing in circles he could September of that year, who in turn sold it
not afford on his academic salary. Just before to Eliza Parkman and built her a cottage
Looking at the 1876 Newport Atlas, I was Thanksgiving, Parkman visited Webster and on the site. Of course, Bancroft would have
surprised to see another house occupying demanded immediate payment of the debt, known of the murder case a few years earli-
what is today Rosecliff’s sweeping front threatening to expose Webster and have him er, but was more likely acquainted with the
lawn. The name listed as the owner of that removed from the Harvard faculty. In a fit Parkman family from his years as Collector
parcel, Eliza A. Parkman, was familiar. A of panic and rage, Webster fatally stabbed for the port of Boston. But it may be that
noted 19th century rosarian named Francis Parkman, dismembered his body and tried Francis Parkman, Jr. was the link that landed
Parkman suffered from ill health for much to burn it in the chemistry lab furnace, his aunt and cousins in front of Rosecliff.
of his life, and was cared for by his sister throwing the partially burned remains in
and constant companion, Eliza. Could it be his office privy and locking the door. A The 1849 publication of Francis Parkman’s
the same Parkman? The answer led to an school janitor discovered the burned body best-selling history, The Oregon Trail, a
amazing story. parts, along with a partial set of dentures. narrative of his time living amongst the
12 Summer 2017George Bancroft's 'Rose Clyffe’
Oglala Sioux, turned him into a celebrity. me in the production of new and choice failing to secure the estate owned by Mr.
Parkman, like Bancroft, was a Harvard man, varieties. His roses are in a way quite as George F. Parkman of Boston, which lies
Boston Brahmin, active member of The fine as his literary work." between the plot on which she is erecting her
Massachusetts Historical Society and fanatical - The Roanoke Times, December 24, 1893 - new villa on the Cliffs and Bellevue Avenue,
rosarian. Parkman’s 1866 publication of The published as a tribute to Parkman who has erected a ‘spite fence’ between her own
Book of Roses further established him as the died the month before. and the Parkman property, some twenty feet
American authority on roses, while Bancroft high, and which shuts out a view of the sea
tended the country’s most famous rose gar- So, however it came about, Rosecliff is from Mr. Parkman…It is not to be wondered
den by the Cliff Walk. Bancroft’s sale of linked to the two foremost rose author- at either that Mr. Parkman does not choose to
the front parcel of Rosecliff ities of the 19th century. sell his place simply to gratify Mrs. Oelrichs'
to the Parkman family, After Bancroft's death in desire for a frontage on Bellevue Avenue. He
seeking refuge from the 1891, Rosecliff was pur- has occupied the old white and yellow cottage
sensationalism of the chased from his estate by for many years, and being a conservative old
murder trial, may have Hermann Oelrichs and Bostonian, not used to the restless ways of
been motivated by his his wife Tessie. Mrs. newer New Yorkers, is not likely to allow
respect for Francis Oelrichs could not abide himself to be disturbed from his accustomed
Parkman, Jr. the humble Parkman cot- haunts or habits."
tage blocking her frontage - The New York Times, April 21, 1892
In Bancroft’s own on Bellevue Avenue and
words: "Perhaps I feel began a campaign to clear Tessie Oelrichs would have to wait a very
unusually kind toward her front lawn. By this time, long time before she got her wish. George
Mr. Parkman because George Parkman, Jr. was Parkman, Jr. died in 1908 and bequeathed
we have some tastes in the sole heir to the Parkman his entire fortune, almost $6 million and his
common which do not estate and he refused multiple Newport home, to the city of Boston. After a
spring out of our interest buy-out offers. The tension failed public auction of the cottage and much
in historical study. You know between the neighbors became negotiation, the Oelrichs finally purchased
I am very fond of roses and rath- fodder for society pages from Boston the Parkman property from the city of Boston
er proud of a collection which I have in to New York and beyond: for $3,000 in 1912. The cottage was torn
my garden here in Washington and also at down immediately.
my home in Newport. But Parkman knows "Another interesting story from Newport
more about roses than I do, and has beaten is to the effect that Mrs. Hermann Oelrichs,
Summer 2017 13New Museum Affairs Exploring the
Director Appointed Gentlemen's
Farms of
Aquidneck Island
Lise Dubé-Scherr by Abigail Stewart, Education and Interpretive
joined the Preservation Programs Specialist
Society in July as Director
of Museum Affairs, Gentlemen’s Farms of Aquidneck Island is now open on
overseeing curatorial, the second floor of the Brayton House at Green Animals
conservation, collections Topiary Garden. Focused on the northern part of
management, exhibitions Aquidneck Island, the exhibition features gentlemen’s
and academic programs farms, or retreats, which unlike working farms, are not
such as lectures and the the owner’s principal occupation. Green Animals, the
Newport Symposium. summer retreat of the Brayton family of Fall River,
Massachusetts, is part of this tradition that dates back to
Ms. Dubé-Scherr has before the Revolutionary War. While the exhibition goes
a long and distinguished into a few farms in depth, it also explores the connections
career in both art between these rural properties and the industrial and
museums and historic house museums. A native of Canada, she held commercial centers of Newport, Providence, Fall River,
progressively more responsible positions at the National Gallery of Canada, and New Bedford.
the Allentown (PA) Art Museum, and The Mount, Edith Wharton’s Estate
and Gardens in Lenox, MA, where she was Deputy Director and Vice Following European models, the gentlemen's farms of
President responsible for all daily operations. Aquidneck Island emulated the rural country seats of the
nobility. Gentlemen farmers of the 18th and 19th centuries
From 2011 to 2017, she was the Executive Director of The Richard H. were establishing themselves as a sort of landholding
Driehaus Museum in Chicago, a decorative arts museum housed in a fully gentry on the island. In the English landscape tradition
restored Gilded Age mansion which grew from 4,000 annual visitors to of naturally aesthetic planting, the farms on Aquidneck
78,000 during her tenure. At the Driehaus Museum, she implemented a Island had pleasure gardens, follies, and pavilions, and
unique visitor-centered model, developed distinctive exhibitions with their manor houses had libraries containing books on
companion publications and expanded public programs to include lecture classical literature, science, and agriculture.
series, symposia, concerts, social programs and living history tours.
Green Animals, so named by Miss Alice Brayton, the
"My background is in museum education," said Dubé-Scherr, "so my house’s last private owner, kept the gentlemen’s farm
whole career has really been anchored in how museums connect people tradition alive well into the 20th century. She used her
with art objects – or with historic houses – and how to create relevant country seat to connect Newport’s elite summer colony.
experiences that resonate. Historic houses and their collections help people Today, Green Animals continues with Miss Brayton’s
understand a period of time and how people were living, both owners and intentions. The house, open seasonally, is the perfect
staff. Connecting the past with the present in meaningful, authentic ways is setting in which to tell this important part of Aquidneck
becoming increasingly important in our 21st century world. It is an honor Island’s history. Along with the vegetable and ornamen-
and a privilege to join the Preservation Society to help advance and deepen tal gardens, Green Animals is also home to the Edible
the impact of the Newport Mansions, with its unparalleled collection of Schoolyard at Green Animals, a program providing
historic house museums and one million annual admissions." educators from Aquidneck Island a space for eco-literacy
and outdoor education in a variety of topics, hopefully
"Lise’s experiences fit perfectly with the direction the Preservation inspiring farmers of the future.
Society is going," said CEO and Executive Director Trudy Coxe. "Under
her leadership and with our new exhibition space in Rosecliff and our new Gentlemen’s Farms of Aquidneck Island adds another layer
Fellows program, we have the capacity now to become a renowned center to Green Animals’ history and allows our guests to see the
of scholarship and programming." important connections between Newport and its neighbors.
14 Summer 2017Dan Christina and Eugene Platt plant beech trees at Green Animals
Next Generation of Beech Trees
Awaits at Green Animals
by Andrea Carneiro, Communications Manager
This spring, the Preservation Society made an investment in the
future of its iconic landscapes by establishing a beech tree nursery on
the grounds of Green Animals Topiary Garden in Portsmouth.
Magnificent beech trees imported from Europe in the late 19th
century dominate the grounds of many of Newport's historic
properties. But those trees have begun reaching the end of their
natural lives, and many significant trees have been lost in recent years.
enough to be used as replacements for older trees that are lost to age,
The Preservation Society has maintained a tree nursery for many disease or storms. It will be at least five years before any of the new
years at The Breakers greenhouse, where it grows a variety of trees trees are transplanted.
including beeches and rare Turkish oaks. But to ensure a sufficient
supply for years into the future, Gardens & Grounds Director Jeff "Our mission is not simply to preserve bricks and mortar, but
Curtis has added a second nursery, devoted strictly to beeches, on landscapes and social history too," said Trudy Coxe, CEO & Executive
a piece of land adjacent to the vegetable garden at Green Animals. Director of the Preservation Society. "Our goal is to keep the gardens
There they'll have plenty of room to grow. More than two dozen and grounds of the Newport Mansions looking as much as possible,
beeches, of four different varieties, were purchased from growers in allowing for the passage of time, the way they were envisioned by the
Oregon. The 3-4 year old trees will be nurtured until they are mature original landscapers and gardeners."
Summer 2017 15Partner in
Preservation
Welcoming a New Partner
in Preservation by John Rodman,
Director of Museum Experience
The Preservation Society of Newport County’s newest Partner in Preservation
level underwriter is the international jewelry maker ALEX AND ANI. The
new relationship is year-round, providing financial support for activities from the
Newport Symposium and Summer Lecture Series to the Newport Flower Show,
the Newport Mansions Wine and Food Festival, the annual summer gala and
Christmas at The Newport Mansions.
"With ALEX AND ANI, we are exceptionally proud
to have formed a bond with one of America’s great
companies and one of America’s great entrepreneurs,
Carolyn Rafaelian," said Preservation Society CEO &
Executive Director Trudy Coxe. "Carolyn and her
company have Rhode Island and Newport roots that
run deep."
Said Kate Richard, ALEX AND ANI Senior Vice
President of Brand and Creative, "ALEX AND ANI
is proud to be a Partner in Preservation with The
Preservation Society of Newport County and to support
their initiatives all year long. As a Rhode Island-based
organization, The Preservation Society of Newport
truly aligns with our mission to preserve the qualities
of our beautiful town."
Carolyn Rafaelian transformed a family tradition
of jewelry making into a worldwide lifestyle brand.
Recognized for her entrepreneurial spirit, innate skill,
and goodwill, Ms. Rafaelian learned the craft of jewel-
ry design and production as a young apprentice to her
father, who opened his jewelry factory in the historic
Jewelry Capital of the World, Rhode Island, in 1966.
Since launching in 2004, ALEX AND ANI has turned
heads in both the business and fashion industries.
ALEX AND ANI products deeply reflect Carolyn’s
vision, charitable focus, and desire to spread positive
energy around the globe. To date, ALEX AND ANI
has donated more than $38 million to charities world-
Trudy Coxe and Carolyn Rafaelian wide. Her designs are created with a deep reverence for powerful and sacred
symbols that inspire awareness, and express empowerment and inner beauty.
In 2016, she launched the iconic Liberty Copper Collection, featuring the
original copper preserved from the centennial restoration of the Statue of Liberty.
Carolyn’s commitment to spreading Lady Liberty’s message of love and hope is
at the core of everything she creates.
16 Summer 2017Newport Mansions Wine & Food Festival at
2017 Calendar of Events Marble House
Visit www.NewportMansions.org for details, ticket information, and additional events, or call
(401) 847-1000. Schedule subject to change.
FALL LECTURE SERIES SPECIAL EVENTS CHRISTMAS AT THE
NEWPORT MANSIONS
Wednesday, September 6 Through January 1, 2018
Lecture: Gilded Suffragists - Rosecliff Exhibition: Pierre Cardin – Saturday, November 18 -
How Alva Belmont Refashioned 70 Years of Innovation Monday, January 1, 2018
the Women's Suffrage Movement The Breakers, The Elms &
Thursday, September 21 - Marble House open daily
Thursday, September 28 Sunday, September 24
Lecture: Lost Providence Newport Mansions Saturdays, November 25,
Wine & Food Festival December 2, 9, 23 & 30
Thursday, October 12 Holiday Evenings at The Breakers
Lecture: Luxurious Consumption- NEWPORT MANSIONS
the Rituals and Artistry of STORES Saturday, December 16
Afternoon Tea Holiday Evening at The Elms &
Thursday, November 16 - Marble House
Thursday, October 26 Sunday, November 19
Lecture: Picturing Edith Wharton's Fall Members' Sale Holiday Dinner Dance
Work
Friday, December 1 -
Saturday, December 2
Warehouse Sale
Summer 2017 17OFFICERS INTERNATIONAL COUNCIL
Chairman Armin B. Allen, Co-Chair
Monty Burnham Earl A. Powell, III, Co-Chair
Vice Chairman John Winthrop Aldrich
William N. Wood Prince Theresa Behrendt
Frederick Beinecke
Vice Presidents Bonnie Burnham
William P. Egan II Dr. Johan Cederlund
David P. Leys Maureen K. Chilton
Archbold D. van Beuren Claudio Del Vecchio
Mary Van Pelt Debra Del Vecchio
Peter Eltz
Treasurer Baron Roland de L’Espée
William F. Lucey III
Morrison H. Heckscher
John J. Slocum, Jr. Assistant Treasurer
Janet L. Robinson
Robin Herbert, C.B.E.
Count Denis de Kergorlay
Secretary Stephen S. Lash
1941 - 2017 Brooks Lobkowicz
William F. Hatfield
Robert B. MacKay
Just as this edition of the Newport Gazette Assistant Secretary Pauline C. Metcalf
was going to press, we learned of the Arthur W. Murphy, Esq. Anne L. Poulet
passing of "Jerry" Slocum, former President Sir Hugh Roberts
and Chairman of the Preservation Society TRUSTEES Charles M. Royce
from 1989 - 1999, and Trustee Emeritus. Dr. Holly M. Bannister Deborah G. Royce
Mortimer Berkowitz III Tracie Rozhon
Duncan A. Chapman El Marques de Santa Cruz
Mr. Slocum received the Preservation Society's
Carol J. Epstein Henrietta Spencer-Churchill, BIID, FIIDA
highest honor, the Antiquarian Medal, on his
Steven B. Gewirz Diane B. Wilsey
retirement from the Board in 1999. Richard Guy Wilson
Peter W. Harris
Eaddo Hayes Kiernan
Among the Preservation Society's many Elizabeth Wright McMillen
accomplishments under his leadership were Ann Mencoff
the acquisition of 424 Bellevue Avenue as its John D. Muggeridge
administrative offices; the acquisition and Naomi Neville PRESERVATION SOCIETY
restoration of Isaac Bell House; conversion John Peixinho PROPERTIES
of Chepstow into a historic house museum; John G. Picerne
Jocelyn C. Sherman Arnold Burying Ground (1675)
attainment of National Historic Landmark
status for The Breakers, The Elms, Kingscote Merrill W. Sherman Hunter House (circa 1748)
and Isaac Bell House; launch of the Newport Dale J. Venturini Kingscote (1839-1841)
William F. Wilson
Symposium and the Newport Flower Show; Chateau-sur-Mer (1851-1852)
and establishment of the annual John G. Green Animals Topiary Garden
Winslow Lecture. TRUSTEES EMERITI (circa 1860)
Carol C. Ballard
In addition to his role at the Preservation Chepstow (1860-1861)
Marion O. Charles
Society, Mr. Slocum served as a long-time Jerome R. Kirby Isaac Bell House (1881-1883)
director of the Alletta Morris McBean Donald O. Ross Osgood-Pell House (1887-1888)
Charitable Trust and a director of the Richard N. Sayer, Esq. Marble House (1888-1892)
Redwood Library and Athenaeum. He George H. Warren
The Breakers (1893-1895)
also was a director of the Newport Reading
Room, a longtime governor of the Spouting The Breakers Stable &
CHIEF EXECUTIVE Carriage House (1895)
Rock Beach Association, and a member of the
OFFICER/EXECUTIVE The Elms (1899-1901)
Newport Clambake Club.
DIRECTOR
Rosecliff (1899-1902)
Trudy Coxe
The Preservation Society of Newport County Rovensky Park (1959)
extends its condolences to Mr. Slocum's family.
18 Summer 2017M
em
10
%
be
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isc
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Shop online for gifts, jewelry, home furnishings, books,
souvenirs, and apparel that are distinctively Newport!
NewportStyle.net is the online home of the Newport Mansions Stores. With a wide
selection of home decor, fashion, and exclusive reproductions, NewportStyle.net
features quality products you can’t find just anywhere.
Preservation Society members always receive a 10% discount and member-only specials.
Summer 2017 19The Preservation Society of Newport County Non–Profit Org
U.S. Postage
424 Bellevue Avenue
P A I D
Newport, RI 02840 The Preservation
Society of
Newport County
TH E P RE S E RVAT ION S O C I E T Y
OF N EWP ORT C OUN TY
Wo r l d C l a s s W i n e s & A w a r d W i n n i n g C h e f s
September 21-24
• Burgundy Grand Cru • Vintner Dinner The Elms, Rosecliff and Marble House
Dinner • Seminars
• Wine & Rosecliff Gala • Newport After Dark Party Benefiting
• Grand Tastings • Sunday Jazz Brunch
• Chef Demonstrations
www. NewportMansionsWineAndFood .org
20 Summer 2017You can also read
