Three days before the season finalè of “The Gilded Age” airs on HBO, Christine Baranski /AKA Agnes van Rhijn, spoke with reporters foraging for a hint of what the future holds for the costumed characters we’ve come to adore. Over three years the period-piece, shot in some of Newport’s most opulent mansions, has earned it’s place as must-see-TV!
Sunday night will end the season, but not fan fascination with cliffhangers teasing us into the emotional dramas of season four!
Christin Baranski “Agnes van Rhijn” photo credit: HBO/ Newport Mansions
But, Baranski delivers so much more than gilded style ~ we love her timeless sass!
Christine Baranski ” Carriage House at the Elms” 8/7/25
Rather than review past plot-lines or foreshadow what will happen this Sunday night the Juilliard trained actress shared how she thinks the writing of Lord Julian Fellowes has become a delicious way to explore chapters and verse of bygone social norms in American culture.
From exhausting quirks of couture large enough to hide a sandwich in, to conforming to the expectations of status, race and sexual orientation Baranski’s take on the production of “The Gilded Age” was a primer on how the arts preserve society’s landscape. For better or worse each story is part of the timeline of our American revolution and evolution.
Nouveau riche Newporter’s often adopted the architectural appointments of European aristocracy
A ‘member by-marriage’ of the Drexel’s, a gilded age family, Baranski wondered about conversations she could have shared with her ancestral auntie. If only the portrait of the Grand Dame could whisper to her as she walked through the Elms, what would that glam-gal of yesterday, have to say about clothes, conveniences and customs of today?
Christine Baranski as Agnes van Rhijn in Gilded Age: Photo Credit HBO, Newport Mansions
Christine Baranski: Carriage House at the Elms 8/7/25
After an hour of thought provoking chatter and more than a few chuckles, Ms. Baranski’s time sharing the casually elegant atmosphere of the Elms Carriage House with reporters ended. Charming in all manners, the modern-day lady of gilded mannerisms was swept off to her next venue, the Elms lawn. There, an audience of 500 waited for her 10 horse powered (golf) carriage to arrive…. but first a little gloss for the paper lady’s lips.
L-R : Steven Feinberg, Executive Director of the Rhode Island Film & Television Office, Trudy Coxe, CEO of the Preservation Society of Newport,Christine Baranski, and Bill Tavares, Communications Manager, Newport Mansions.
Season Three Finalè of “The Gilded Age” airs on HBO Sunday night 8/10/25 at 9:00PM