Photo Gallery

An exterior view of Rochambeau House.

A view of the entry stairway.

A view of the entry hallway, with the Greek statuette prominently placed at the end.

A view of the music room. In this room, Mary Elizabeth hosted the likes of politicians, artists, foreign dignitaries, and other socialites.

A side room that has now been turned into the Chair of the French Department’s office. Notice the pastel bust of Mary Elizabeth hanging over the pink couch on the left wall.

Seemingly out of place in an 18th century French château, this statuette of a woman is a plaster cast of an unknown original Greek statue, perhaps coming from the Metropolitan Museum in New York. Its prominent placement at the end of the entry hallway displays Mary Elizabeth’s fine taste in and love of all kinds of art.

A 19th Century wooden library table with leather inlaid top and ormolu mounts decorating the front, sides, and legs.

Featuring a clarinet, saxophone, violin on a chair in front of a piano, this still life hangs in the music room at Rochambeau. This formal space was used by Mary Elizabeth to host and entertain a number of guests that existed in the Sharpe family’s notable social circle. Also featured throughout this room are Louis XV style fixtures, such as the sarrancolin marble fireplace and the massive crystal chandelier.

Henry Sharpe Jr. wasn’t always known for being a trustee and fellow of Brown University—he was once a kid too, growing up in this house as a native of Providence. Staff recently found this crayon drawing he made at about age 7 in a drawer on the third floor, framing it and placing it on display in Rochambeau.

An example of the breadth of Mary Elizabeths’s collection, this is a three-drawer slant desk with a glass bookcase on top. The front has been lacquered with a Japanese design of flowering trees.

A view from the gardens at Rochambeau in their early days showing the courtyard.

An image from the gardens at Rochambeau in their early days showing the steps leading into the infinity garden.

The final landscape plan of the gardens at Rochambeau from RE Dinneen Architects.

A sketch made by Peggy Sharpe, Mary Elizabeth’s daughter in law, based on the final designs from RE Dinneen.

In 1966, Mary Elizabeth (second from right) was awarded an honorary degree from Bryant University. She also holds an honorary A.M. from Brown University, awarded in 1950, being described by President Wriston as possessing a “vivid and unspoiled imagination, varied and unique talents, rigorous self-discipline” during the ceremony.

A view of the gardens in 1990 after the renovation from Sharpe Mansion to Rochambeau House for French and Spanish cultural center.

In the 1960’s, Mary Elizabeth began working with Brown University to landscape the grounds, including on Wriston Quad and Pembroke Campus, where she even included azalea plants from her own cuttings from Rochambeau.

Mary Elizabeth with Mayor Doorley circa 1970, signing legislation that would help enact beautification measures around Providence.

Mary Elizabeth was a patron to several female artists, most notably Florence Koehler. Known for her jewelry, Koehler helped Mary Elizabeth choose decorations for Rochambeau House and gifted her this portrait. Titled “Mother and Child”, it depicts a woman seated on a chair in a long, white dress, a small boy standing to her right. These figures are likely Mary Elizabeth and her then-7 year old son Henry Sharpe Jr.

One way that Mary Elizabeth was able to contribute to her local community was by leveraging her connections. However, she always made an effort to support those around her, particularly other women. An example of this is when she connected Rosemary Pierrel, the dean of Pembroke College, with English artist Eleanor George Mather to paint Pierrel’s official portrait in 1967. In the portrait, Pierrel stares off into the distance, which, in fact, would have been the gardens at Rochambeau, where Pierrel sat as Mather painted.

An initial sketch of the gardens at Rochambeau by landscape architect Marian C. Coffin. Working in a male-dominated field, Coffin had difficulty gaining employment and established her own practice in 1905. She gained fame for her garden designs for elite families along the East Coast, including her work with the Sharpe family.

Some of the initial plans and sketches for the Rose Garden at Rochambeau, done by landscape architect Irmgard B. Graham in March 1940.

Some of the initial plans and sketches for the Rose Garden at Rochambeau, done by landscape architect Irmgard B. Graham in March 1940.

Some of the initial plans and sketches for the Rose Garden at Rochambeau, done by landscape architect Irmgard B. Graham in March 1940.

An illustration of the gardens at Rochambeau at their prime by Beatrix Sagendorph in 1957. Beatrix Sagendorph founded Yankee magazine together with her husband Robb Sagendorph in 1935. Her paintings and illustrations appeared in Yankee for decades; she provided almost all of the cover artwork for 30 years, most commonly black-and-white scratchboard art of New England scenery. These illustrations are now displayed in the main hallway of Rochambeau House.

An illustration of the gardens at Rochambeau at their prime by Beatrix Sagendorph in 1957. Beatrix Sagendorph founded Yankee magazine together with her husband Robb Sagendorph in 1935. Her paintings and illustrations appeared in Yankee for decades; she provided almost all of the cover artwork for 30 years, most commonly black-and-white scratchboard art of New England scenery. These illustrations are now displayed in the main hallway of Rochambeau House.