Decoding the Details of Interior Décor
Part 1: Decoding Gilded Age Designer Jules Allard
Preservation Society Curatorial Research Fellow Ben Bowery
The Preservation Society of Newport County holds the largest collection of works by Parisian-born designer Jules Allard, whose businesses in Paris and New York catered to a clientele of wealthy, socially ambitious Americans. Although Allard’s work came to define the aesthetic of the Gilded Age in Newport and New York, his work has remained relatively unstudied. Ben Bowery will explore Allard’s life and work, discuss some of his findings and illuminate the working process of this fascinating designer.
Part 2: Decoding Décor: Solving the GG Puzzle
Preservation Society Curatorial Research Assistant Eve Loftus
Eve Loftus will discuss her research into the mysterious “GG” stamps found by Ben Bowery and Objects Conservator Carola Schueller on Allard furniture, and later on Davenport furniture on the third floor of The Breakers. She will describe her collaborative research process and reveal the identity of the previously unknown French maker.
Benjamin Bowery
Benjamin Bowery earned an MA in Decorative Art and Design from George Washington University and the Smithsonian Associates. His Master’s focus was 20th-century American furniture and interiors.
He has worked as a researcher for the Williamsburg Documentary Project via the College of William and Mary and as an intern in the American Painting, Sculpture and Decorative Arts departments at the Baltimore Museum of Art.
Eve Loftus
Eve Loftus earned an MPhil in Public History and Cultural Heritage from Trinity College Dublin with a focus on emerging decolonial practices in museums. She joined The Preservation Society's Museum Affairs team in February 2024, bringing experience in historical and genealogical research as well as museum education and tour guiding.
More Tours, Events & Exhibitions
Beneath The Breakers Tour
Daily
10:00am
Explore the underground systems that made this great house a marvel of technology for its time.
June 1 - September 1, offered at 10 am & 2 pm
Third Floor Preservation in Progress Tour
Daily
12 pm and 2 pm
For the first time in the 129-year history of The Breakers, the private third-floor family space occupied by generations of Vanderbilts is open for public tours.
Servant Life Tour
Daily
10 am and 2 pm
See and hear how the other half lived. This tour will highlight the stories of some of the men and women who worked to service the social whirl of Newport during the Gilded Age.
June 1 - September 1, offered at 10 am, 12 pm & 2 pm
Inside “The Gilded Age” Tour
May 2 – June 27, 2025
Fans of HBO’s "The Gilded Age" will love this guide-led tour of locations in four of the Newport Mansions where Julian Fellowes' historical drama series was filmed. Fridays only, May 2 through June 27.
Richard Morris Hunt:
In a New Light
May 30 – November 2, 2025
This exhibition examines the mind, ambition and legacy of America’s Dean of Architecture, who shaped Gilded Age America not only through the buildings he created – including The Breakers and Marble House – but also through his ideas.
Member-Only Island Cemetery Tour
June 14, 2025
10:00am
Coinciding with our exhibition “Richard Morris Hunt: In a New Light,” this guide-led tour of Newport's Island Cemetery will focus on the great Gilded Age architect's impact and presence in this historic burying ground.
SOLD OUT
The Newport Flower Show: “A Floral Fair”
June 20 – 22, 2025
Themed “A Floral Fair,” the 29th annual Show will combine the elegance of a Gilded Age fête with the good cheer of a summer county fair.
Member-Only Island Cemetery Tour
June 28, 2025
10:00am
Coinciding with our exhibition “Richard Morris Hunt: In a New Light,” this guide-led tour of Newport's Island Cemetery will focus on the great Gilded Age architect's impact and presence in this historic burying ground.
SOLD OUT
![THE GREAT GATSBY [US 1974] SAM WATERSTON as Nick Carraway, LOIS CHILES as Jordan Baker Date: 1974](https://www.newportmansions.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Gatsby-Credit-RGR-Collection-Alamy-Stock-Photo_cover-467x300-c-center.webp)
The Great Gatsby Revisited: An Evening with Sam Waterston
July 9, 2025
5:30pm – 7:30pm
The David B. Ford Family Lecture celebrates the 1974 film adaptation of the classic novel "The Great Gatsby," which was filmed at Rosecliff and Marble House. Award-winning actor Sam Waterston, who co-starred as Nick Carraway, revisits the movie in conversation with NBC journalist Anne Thompson.
Coaching Weekend Dinner Dance
August 16, 2025
7:00pm – 12:00am
Join us for an unforgettable evening of dinner and dancing to celebrate Coaching Weekend in Newport.
Annual Golf Outing
August 25, 2025
12:00pm
Grab your clubs for an unforgettable day on the greens at the Preservation Society’s Annual Golf Outing at Newport National Golf Club in Middletown, R.I., a challenging links-style course with views of the Atlantic Ocean and Sakonnet Passage.
Newport Mansions Wine & Food Festival
September 19 – 21, 2025
Thank you to all of our sponsors, guests and volunteers for another successful Newport Mansions Wine & Food Festival. See you next year for the 20th annual festival, September 19-21, 2025, at Rosecliff. Become a Preservation Society member and receive early access to purchase 2025 tickets before they become available to the general public.
