The Lisle property (4365 Post Road, Warwick) also known as the White Swan residence was bequeathed to RISD in 1967, after the death of Martha B. Lisle. The estate, built in the 1880s, as well as the contents of the house, was given to RISD, including the Goddard Secretary. There were 2,269 items bequeathed to RISD with 153 items placed in the RISD museum. The will also stated that the White Swan must remain as a museum, run by RISD. The Arthur and Martha Lisle Fund, a $500,000 trust fund, was also bequeathed for maintenance of the estate. RISD gained the title of the house in 1969. The estate was used by RISD in the 1980s for classes. The estate is no longer the property of RISD, as the estate was allowed to be sold in 1992.
The use of certain documents and collections may be restricted. Please consult the Archives staff for further details.
Permission to publish, reproduce, or quote from archival materials must be obtained in writing from the Archives. The researcher assumes full responsibility for use of material and for conformity to all applicable laws, including copyright.
Arthur B. and Martha B. Lisle papers, Rhode Island School of Design Archives.
The collection consists of 54 check stub books of the Lisle Estate dating from 1926-1967. There are also folders that include papers of correspondence between Arthur B. Lisle and Charles P. Lukens, who both managed a trust fund from the estate of Mrs. Carolyn S. Fahnestock for Ms. Dorothy Sollers Fraser and newspaper clippings of this event. Other folders contain bills, correspondence, blueprints, and rent collection pertaining to the White Swan. There is also a signed and sealed paper that pertains to the removal of Martha B. Lisle’s kin from a cemetery to the New Rockland Cemetary.
The collection is arranged in two series:
These check stub books record expenses from the estate.