National Museum of American Illustration

Top choice in Newport


This acclaimed museum features an impressive collection of 'the most American of American Art' including Maxfield Parrish's impossibly luminous works in color, NC Wyeth prints, Norman Rockwell's nostalgia and the illustrations of other American graphic heavyweights. If you can, take the free guided tour on Friday (3pm; available year-round), which sheds light on the stories behind the images and how they molded American culture through the decades.

The museum is housed within the palatial Vernon Court (yet another mansion, this one from 1898) set within Olmsted-designed grounds.