I'm no artist or critic regarding art... I know what I don't like - and I just don't get a colors splashed across the canvas as a display of talent. THIS art however is what *I* call art. Grace's art is simply beautiful - mostly depicting native american indians in everyday life. There is some other art there as well, but not to my taste.
The latest exhibit for September features art from 1902 when Grace Hudson spent a year painting in Hawaii. Some pieces are on loan from the Honolulu Museum of Art. a must see!
This museum is worth a visit not only for the chance to see Grace Hudson's marvelous paintings of local Native American life, but also for the exhibits setting out her fascinating family, the gorgeous Pomo baskets and other artifacts, and the chance to see her home, the Sun House, in its original condition.
Tour Grace Hudson (the artist)'s preserved home (Sun House) and always a wonderful exhibit of artists at the Museum. Great gift shop.
This is a very worthwhile "local" museum to visit for a few hours. It gives a very special insight to the family and the interests of the artist (Grace Hudson) who took such a significant interest in the local Pomo peoples and their arts/crafts who lives were be transformed so dramatically at the end of the 19th century. There was also an exhibition of another early California artist that was well displayed and informative. A very pleasant hidden gem to visit.
The Grace Hudson Museum has some really fine local Native American crafts, mostly baskets of the Pomo people. The basis of the collection, however, are the paintings by Grace Hudson (The Painter Lady, as she was known among the local tribes) which depict the Pomo people as they lived in her time. The Sunhouse, (Hudson's home) when it is open for tours is also very interesting, especially at Christmas when the staff decorates it for the holidays.
Give me one good reason to spend time in Ukiah? Well, locals can name a few good reasons but one you will never regret following through on is the Grace Hudson Museum. This museum has been rated one of the best small museums in California, and after a visit there you will readily understand why. The first thing to understand is that this museum is not only a beautifully professional display space which attracts first class traveling and local exhibitions, it also houses other unique attractions. You might only view the current exhibition and leave the museum highly satisfied, BUT you would have missed the fullest appreciation of the reason this museum carries the name Grace Hudson. In the back gallery, accessed through a short hallway, is the permanent exhibition of the paintings of Grace Hudson. The majority of these paintings depict the local Native American subjects the artist is renowned for, and they are truly wonderful. Pomo children, women and men, often with their pets and in their native attire, seem as glowingly alive in these wonderfully detailed and luminous paintings as they were in life 90 years ago. Also, neighboring the museum is the Hudson family home known as the Sun House, open for docent led tours. The house, largely of Grace's design, is maintained as it was in the Hudsons' time, and the personal stories told by the docents seem to bring the era and the family back to life. Not to be missed is a delightful little store just inside the entrance to the museum. It is stocked with a moderately priced and pleasing variety of Native American and other objects of art, historical and art books, and other items of interest. Adding to all of the above the fact that the museum staff is friendly, professional and well informed and it is hard not to conclude that this little museum is one of hidden jewels of Mendocino county.
This museum serves as a wonderful tribute to an artist who did much to commemorate the local Pomo Indian tribes, as well as her stay in Hawaii, the docent(sorry I forgot her name) led us on a wonderful tour of the house where Grace Hudson lived. This is a great opportunity for anyone who enjoys Native American art.
Couple of hours and you get to see the history of Grace and how she lived independently, very good story, along with her art work, apart from some contemporary art work from other artists.
The Grace Hudson collections made local history and the art of Mendocino County's native Pomo people come alive! I loved all the children and dogs in Grace's paintings and so did my nieces and nephews