https://www.asiaweekny.com/sites/asiaweekny/files/smartphone_2014.jpg
The Philadelphia Museum of Art
The Rubin Museum of Art
548 Bellevue Avenue
Newport, RI 02840
Hours Beginning September 1
Open Daily 10am-3pm
Adults $25
Youth (6-12) $10
Preservation Society Members Free
Portrait of Grace Yip Typond, unidentified photographer (New York City), c. 1910, photograph, Collection of Douglas Chu
Portrait of Grace Yip Typond, unidentified photographer (New York City), c. 1910, photograph, Collection of Douglas Chu
Lee Yun Laundry, 329 Thames Street, Newport, R.I., The Metropolitan News Co., Boston, c. 1900, paper postcard, reproduced courtesy of Daniel P. Titus
Lee Yun Laundry, 329 Thames Street, Newport, R.I., The Metropolitan News Co., Boston, c. 1900, paper postcard, reproduced courtesy of Daniel P. Titus
A cigar box inscribed with a “W” for William Shepard Wetmore, unidentified maker (Chinese), c. 1835, black and gilt lacquered wood, brass, Gift of Mrs. Elizabeth Morris Smith. PSNC.4431.
A cigar box inscribed with a “W” for William Shepard Wetmore, unidentified maker (Chinese), c. 1835, black and gilt lacquered wood, brass, Gift of Mrs. Elizabeth Morris Smith. PSNC.4431.
Newly Opened Exhibition at Rosecliff
The Celestial City: Newport and China
September 1, 2023–February 11, 2024
Since Newport’s beginnings as a colonial seaport, generations of its citizens have looked to China for knowledge, beauty, fortune and freedom. In turn, many different people of Chinese heritage, including artists, merchants, immigrant entrepreneurs and women suffragists, shaped all aspects of life in Newport. Their stories are at the heart of this exhibition.
The Celestial City explores China’s deep influence on Newport from the 18th century through the Gilded Age (1865-1915), when the city emerged as America’s premier summer playground and the fall of China’s last imperial dynasty transformed the ancient nation.
The extraordinary objects on display include more than 100 works from the Preservation Society’s collection and other institutions in a range of media, from paintings, sculptures, prints and photographs to fashion, ceramics, lacquerwares and lanterns.
Highlights include treasures of Chinese art collected by Newport merchants and industrialists; photographs and stories from Newport’s early Chinese community; and the writings, portraits and family heirlooms of Chinese women suffragists who inspired American women’s rights leaders including Alva Vanderbilt Belmont of Marble House. Contemporary artworks by Yu-Wen Wu and Jennifer Ling Datchuk will illuminate Chinese contributions to Newport as well as hidden connections between the Newport mansions and the Chinese American experience.
To view more pieces from the exhibition, click here.
The Preservation Society of Newport County, Rhode Island, is a nonprofit organization accredited by the American Alliance of Museums. It is dedicated to preserving and interpreting the area's historic architecture, landscapes, decorative arts and social history. Its 11 historic properties – seven of them National Historic Landmarks–span more than 250 years of American architectural and social development.
Contact Us
