There were so many gorgeous shows that opened throughout Newport over the summer. But in this report, we’re focusing on the shows that dazzled each of the gallery spaces at the Redwood Library and Athenaeum, right next to the Newport Art Museum. The breadth of exhibits on display really is a testament to the organization’s devotion to engaging visual storytelling grounded in historical overtones.
The interior of the Redwood Library and Athenaeum is a marvel, with a stunning collection of books and arts. Founded in 1747, “it is the only remaining secular public cultural institution in this country with an unbroken link to the colonial period and the Nation’s founding.” It is truly an amazing place.
And it just got an upgrade for its vestibule earlier this summer, with the installation of hand-printed wallpaper designed by RISD master printmaker Andrew Raftery, a process that took a few years. Multiple wooden blocks were laboriously hand-carved for the designs. The detailed blocks are so gorgeous, they have their own display in the library space, which runs through the end of the year.
The library also has another exhibit, “Rhode Island Coaches: In the Eye of Thomas Eakins & Contemporaries,” in the Pierce Prince Gallery. The exhibit is a special presentation in honor of this year’s Coaching Weekend in Newport (going on this weekend!) and centers around Eakins’ masterpiece. But there’s so much more in this showing, with all kinds of horse-related and coaching paraphernalia. Also, check out the wall dedicated to “whips”—the coachmen drivers—of Newport.
My favorite bit? Kurt Donier’s photograph of “The New York Times” legendary photographer, Bill Cunningham, capturing one of the coaches in 2015. Side note: Cunningham photographed me many years ago and it’s one of my treasured moments in life. He also inspired me to take up the camera in the first place! What a joy to come across this image at the Redwood.
The Coaching exhibit runs through September 7, 2025. And it’s really the perfect companion event to attend if you’re taking in the 19th century carriages driving around Newport this weekend.
Last, but not least, the athenaeum space also opened yet another exhibit in the Van Alen Gallery, “Jackie Gendel – Recreation Myths,” which also runs through the end of December 2025. It’s a meditative display centered around the theme of myths, as seen through the female gaze. According to the exhibition notes, “Gendel visits key early 20th century modernist motifs as she works through the place of women in the paintings of Post-Impressionists like Marie Laurencin, Ernst Kirchner, Fernand Léger, among others. It’s a bright show full of color and rowdy patterns that make it fun as well as thought-provoking.
If you’re attending Preservation Society’s Coaching event this weekend, don’t forget to stop by the Redwood Library to immerse yourself in even more history about this rare, momentous affair. And then take in the other exhibits throughout this fascinating historical space.
