A group of donors has acquired a series of early 18th-century Venetian paintings to restore the dining room of one of Newport’s most stately mansions, The Elms, to its original appearance.

Coal magnate Edward Julius Berwind, and his wife, built the mansion for $1.4 million at the turn of the 20th century.

When the historic Gilded Age home on Newport's famed Bellevue Avenue was sold in the 1960s to a developer, the contents were sold at auction, including six paintings depicting scenes from the life of the Roman General Scipio Africanus.

The paintings were part of the interior design by Allard of Allard and Sons of Paris. Four works were installed with lead into the walls and could not be removed, but six were sold by Berwind's heir.

Now open to the public and National Historic Landmark, the Preservation Society of Newport County runs The Elms.

Four paintings were bought back for the room at $250,000 total. Recently, donors raised $650,000 to purchase the remaining two, said to be the best ones by Sebastiano Ricci, from New York art dealer Wildenstein & Company.

The collection is the most complete series of Venetian history painting outside of Venice, said John Tschirch, director of museum affairs at the Preservation Society of Newport County.