Newport Show 2014

L OAN E XHIBIT f{tÑxw Fifty Objects that Rhode Island, founded by an immigrant in 1636, has a rich, complicated history. Its coastline encouraged a robust maritime trade and the entrepreneurial spirit of its people made it a vanguard in the industrial revolution. Rhode Island has served as a haven for the religiously persecuted and an incubator for innovators and rabble-rousers, who were sometimes one and the same. Not immune to the uglier parts of history, Rhode Island has seen its share of inequalities and injustices, as its inhabitants ride the tide of shifting demographics and changing economies. To compress nearly four hundred centuries of history into a mere fifty objects requires keen editorial and curatorial skill. Drawn from the rich collections of the Rhode Island Historical Society and the Newport Historical Society, sister organizations with a common origin in 1822, this special exhibition is built around themes spanning centuries and overlapping geography. For a small state, Rhode Island has a powerful reach that can be seen in the material evidence of its past. •••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• Rhode Island History 15