Holidays at the Newport Mansions will be more spectacular than ever this year! Come see the festive decorations this season at The Breakers, Marble House & The Elms!

A great Newport tradition continues with Holidays at the Newport Mansions! There’s nothing like seeing these spectacular Gilded Age houses in all their festive finery, glittering with gold and sparkling with silver. Throughout each house, ornately decorated Christmas trees, garlands, wreaths and fresh floral arrangements are designed to complement the décor or theme of each room. As always, the 15-foot-tall poinsettia tree in the Great Hall of The Breakers – made up of 150 poinsettia plants – will provide a perfect holiday photo opportunity. New this year, the Music Room of The Breakers will host a vignette of mannequins elegantly dressed in Gilded Age fashions.

November 19, 2022 – January 1, 2023

Artist in Residence Series

This summer, the hotel’s Artist in Residence Series will feature Nick Mele, lifelong resident of Newport and photographer of the new book A Newport Summer. Guests and locals are invited to join Nick in the hotel’s Living Room for conversations and an insider look at the new book that takes readers behind the facades of Newport’s elaborate museums and shares an entrée into the parties, lawn tennis matches, and beach clambakes that make up the glorious days of a Newport summer. Books will also be available for purchase and signing.  Events are scheduled for June 22, July 13 and August 3 at 5:00pm. Known for his whimsical take on American luxury and elegance, Nick Mele is a lifestyle, fashion and interior design photographer whose worked has appeared publications such as Town & Country, The New York Times, Architectural Digest, Vogue and Vanity Fair.

Spring at the Newport Art Museum – This spring you need to experience “Call & Response”. Three artists were invited to view works from the Museum’s collection of nearly 3,000 pieces and asked to respond to that piece with new work or series inspired by the original work.  www.newportartmuseum.org

Spring 2022 Books Preview by the booksellers at CHARTER BOOKS

As you chop ledges of encrusted snow off your windshield, slipping on a fresh sheet of black ice and falling into a slushy pile of salty, sandy water, it might be hard to believe spring is almost here. But the days are getting longer and your TBR pile is about to get a lot taller. 

Some of our favorite authors have new books coming in the months ahead, and there are some exciting new debuts that deserve all the hype. This list from our staff has a little for everyone, and some of these authors might be appearing in person at our store before long. Keep an eye out for announcements about upcoming events and remember that you can pre-order all of these books today. Shop our website (charterbookstore.com) or drop by our store at 8 Broadway in Newport. 

THE LOST SUMMERS OF NEWPORT by Beatriz Williams, Lauren Willig, and Karen White 

Yep, this is the big one. The latest work of historical fiction from ‘Team W’ takes place right here Newport, as a single Gilded Age mansion witnesses decades of change and quite a bit of intrigue. We’re excited to welcome Beatriz, Lauren, and Karen to the City by the Sea as they launch their national book tour here on May 14 . 

YOU MADE A FOOL OF DEATH WITH YOUR BEAUTY by Akwaeke Emezi 

As far as I’m concerned, this proves that Akwaeke Emezi can write in any genre and make it absolutely their own. This book is incredibly rich, vibrant, and joyful, even while examining grief and the messiness of love, and second chances. 

SIREN QUEEN by Nghi Vo 

Nghi Vo’s vision of magic in 1920s Hollywood only serves to enrich the transformation that the protagonist goes through and aids in the reader’s understanding of all that was at stake for those in the early film industry. SIREN QUEEN reminds us of all that the term “movie magic” implies. 

BEING A DOG: A TAIL OF MINDFULNESS by Maria Gianferrari and Pete Oswald 

Join a young child and their dog as they experience every minute of the day to its fullest—from the second they wake up to the moment they fall asleep. We’re excited to be hosting a launch event for this book in partnership with the Potter League for Animals on Saturday, April 9. 

THE CANDY HOUSE by Jennifer Egan 

In one of the most hotly anticipated books of the year, A Visit from the Goon Squad author Jennifer Egan returns to that book’s themes of displacement and authenticity. Set in a near future where a web of interconnected characters struggle to find genuine meaning after all human consciousness has been uploaded to social media, this is bound for bestseller and awards lists. 

SEA OF TRANQUILITY by Emily St. John Mandel 

The author of Station Eleven is back with a transcendent, melancholic novel featuring characters (some new, some familiar) forging bonds across great distances of space and time. Pre-order from our store to receive a signed first edition! 

RIVER OF THE GODS by Candice Millard 

Candice Millard’s Destiny of the Republic is one of my all-time favorite recommendations (especially for Erik Larson fans), and she does not disappoint in this harrowing true tale of survival during a misguided British expedition to find the source of the Nile in the late 1850s. 

TIME IS A MOTHER by Ocean Vuong 

In this deeply intimate second poetry collection, Ocean Vuong searches for life among the aftershocks of his mother’s death, embodying the paradox of sitting within grief while being determined to survive beyond it. Pre-order your signed first edition from us and receive a limited edition broadside of a poem from the collection. 

I am loving the new series on HBO, The Gilded Age, it’s so fun to see Newport come alive as she was.  The story is fun, but it’s amazing to play the game, “Spot our Locals.”  Saw Brian Ladley from Newport Art Museum in Episode 1 and again in Episode 5.  Please check out the information from our friends at Discover Newport about Gilded Age events happening in Newport during the series.

While traditionally you think of Summer as the time to be in Newport, the peace and stillness that exists in the Winter months is what I truly love. Everything slows down a bit and the streets, shops and restaurants are a little less crowded. The fireplaces are lit and a cozy evening ensues with a warming cocktail and good conversation. Don’t count out a mid-winter’s stay!

Working out in Newport is something that has a wide variety of choices and styles. Whether you want to get fit, socialize, Pulse Gym has all of the options. Jacki Lane, trainer and owner is also a giver, to the community and her to her clients. All of the trainers have different styles and specialties. My favorite is beach boot camp. In the summer, early in the morning on Second Beach. you can’t beat it!

– Roxanne Callahan, Brenton Operations Director

Andy Ross, our Managing Director, tells about one of his favorites:

One of my favorite winter activities: Newport Art Museum. The Newport Biennial 2022 opens tomorrow, January 8. It is one of the Newport Art Museum’s longest standing traditions, more than 30 years strong! The juried exhibition features works from New England artists and showcases fresh approaches to art making in our region. This year’s juror is Dr. Kimberli Gant, the McKinnon Curator of Modern & Contemporary Art at the Chrysler Museum.

Join us Saturdays from 4:30PM in the Living Room as we welcome local artist Kimberly Pucci! Kimberly Pucci Atelier and Kimberly Pucci Vault are artistic treasures in Newport and beyond. Read more below about how Kimberly found her passion and meet her in person here at Brenton!

Kimberly Pucci was planning to become a lawyer, but a fateful junior year abroad at the Università degli Studi di Firenze changed everything. “Florence stopped me in my tracks,” she recalls. “Everywhere I turned I was inspired, whether it was food, wine, art or just the culture of living la dolce vita.” Her host family included artisans who handcrafted frames for Renaissance paintings at the Uffizi Gallery—and she was hooked.

Immediately after graduating from the University of Rhode Island, she returned to Florence and immersed herself in every aspect of Renaissance art—taking University courses, working as an art-school archivist, even sneaking into the Pitti Palace with a friend who was restoring Medici dresses. “I bought myself a beautiful apple-red bike with a big basket and a bell, and would just ride the around city,” she remembers. “My favorite cappuccino bar was in the Oltarno neighborhood, the hub of the Florentine artisan scene.Every morning the goldsmiths, woodworkers, painters and sculptors would convene for a caffe corretto, and I’d chat with them about their latest commissions.” Surrounded by art at every turn, she embraced every opportunity to learn more. “Anytime there was a church open or someone in a studio working on mosaics, I had to pop my head in to look.”

After obtaining a work visa and few entry level-positions at Ferragamo and Gucci, Kimberly decided to try her luck on the Ponte Vecchio, the world’s most renowned jewelry destination for almost 500 years. “I walked into one store that just blew me away. A very, very large showroom of the most incredible jewelry. Just breathtaking.” The owners, from a lineage of Florentine jewelers going back to the 1300s, hired her on the spot—and soon she found herself working with everyone from American senators to African kings.

Over the next 11 years she learned every aspect of the business, ultimately becoming Retail Director of the store. “What I really loved was sitting with the artisans as they handcrafted a piece of jewelry,” she says. “They would literally show me the entire process:  how to select and set gemstones, how to transform the raw materials into a wearable work of art.”

Missing her family back in Rhode Island, Kimberly proposed a clever win-win: during the store’s annual off-season, she would build a private trunk show business in the US. “I’d fly to Chicago, or Houston, or San Francisco with four million dollars of amazing Italian jewelry in my backpack!” she laughs. “That’s really how I became an entrepreneur. Women loved

that I could offer them something unique, one-of-a-kind, that they couldn’t get anywhere else.”

During this time, Kimberly met her husband Alessio, a native of Tuscany studying architecture at the Università di Firenze. As her stateside success grew, the couple decided to relocate to Kimberly’s native Rhode Island, but still maintain a foothold in Tuscany with their villa in Montespertoli.

Kimberly continued to build her career with leading fine jewelers in the New England area, but her entrepreneurial spirit would not be denied. Now, with Kimberly Pucci Atelier and Kimberly Pucci Vault, her artistic sensibility and unparalleled expertise have found their ultimate expression. “I am living my passion,” she says. “Building relationships with my clients, and my artisans, based on uncompromising quality and integrity. It’s a dream come true.”

Join us this week (8/4 5-7PM) for an extra special episode of our Artist In Residence series. This week we are featuring one of our very own, Joseph Downing. Joseph is a professional valet here at Brenton in his spare time, when he is not creating evocative, creative art.

In his own words: I began painting roughly two years ago, I do acrylic works on canvas. I do customer commissions on a variety of subjects, I also love to do music and film icons I admire, memorializing them in paintings. It started as a winter time activity, using markers to sort of spend some time constructively, when an artist friend of mine noticed and gifted me some paints and brushes. I started experimenting and now it’s turned into an avenue worth exploring more seriously.  Over the course of the past couple years I have sold and produced many works, and I love seeing and hearing the recipient’s reactions. Painting is something I truly enjoy spending my time on.