Play / Pretend

Museum Hours: Wednesday - Monday, 11:00 AM - 4:00 PM. Closed Tuesdays. Founded in 1912, the Newport Art Museum is one of the oldest continuously operating and most highly regarded art museums and schools of its kind in the country. The Newport Art Museum’s collection consists of approximately 3,000 works of art in a range of media including works on paper (prints, drawings, watercolors, and photographs), paintings, sculptures, decorative arts, installation works, and textiles and is expanding to include new media. Concentrated on American art and contemporary art, the Museum’s collection includes works of art from the 18th century to present. As a valued Newport Art Museum member you're entitled to free admission, are invited to members' only events and exhibition tours, receive discounts on Museum School class tuition and public program tickets, and will be supporting the Museum's mission to share a diversity of art and experiences to our Newport community and beyond. By supporting the Newport Art Museum Annual Fund at any level, you help make a positive difference in the lives of many. Our exhibitions, public programs, education, and community outreach, which includes a diversity of artistic voices, would not be possible without you. Help the Newport Art Museum continue to spark reflection, inspiration, discovery and build lasting connections by making your tax-deductible contribution today. We thank you for believing in the transformative power of art and allowing us to make art accessible to all for generations to come. Help the Newport Art Museum continue to spark reflection, inspiration, discovery, and build connections by making your tax-deductible contribution TODAY! Are you a business owner who is looking for new ways to engage and connect with local Newport customers on a year round basis? We have the perfect opportunity. Sponsor a Newport tradition - The Newport Art Museum - Make NAM part of your marketing plan in 2025. We have an array of events and exhibits to offer you. Our first exciting event is the 2025 Winter Speaker Series in its 97th Year. View the Opening Reception Photo Gallery: Join us for the Opening Reception: May 7, 2026 5:00 pm – 7:00 pm From building blanket forts to inventing elaborate storylines for dolls and action figures, childhood play allows us to test roles and imagine new possibilities. As adults, that instinct evolves. We continue to construct narratives about who we are and how we are perceived. Play / Pretend traces this continuum between early imagination and adult self-construction, revealing play as a lifelong act of discovery. Featuring historic dolls and automata from The Collection of Shelley D. Schorsch, works from the Redwood Library & Athenaeum, and contemporary artists including Tom Deininger, Gerry Perrino, Entang Wiharso, Christina Pell, Saberah Malik, and Rick Lazes, the exhibition places 19th- and 20th-century toys in dialogue with artists working today. Extending this exploration beyond the galleries and into the Museum Shop, Newport-based artist Sam Heydt will create a special pop-up environment that dissolves the boundary between observer and participant — inviting visitors to reconsider play not as something we outgrow, but as an enduring act of discovery. Gerry Perrino, The Dangerous Animal, Still Life with 2 Toys, oil on panel, 11.5 x 8.125 in Christina Pell, Round and Round, ink, pastel on paper, 35 x 49 in Libby Schoettle, Be Yourself Rick Lazes, Meghan, Hand Molded Acrylic Panel, 55 x 35 x 6 in Entang Wiharso, Ring of Fire: Banaspati, acrylic on buffalo hide, 69 x 53 in Eric Telfort, Flight of the Haitians, Oil on panel. To receive a discounted price, you have three options: If you're not a member: Purchase a membership along with a class or event registration, and the discount will be applied in your cart. If you are a member, and you purchased your membership on this website: log into your account and the discount will be applied in your cart. You can log in before your purchase, or during the checkout process. If you are a member, and you did not purchase your membership on this website: Log in with the email address we have on file for you. If you haven't logged into this website before, you'll need to reset your password first. If you are a member, and you're having an issue logging in: Purchase a registration for a class or event, and then call or email the museum, and we will be happy to apply the discount to your purchase.