Grace Hudson Museum and Sun House, Ukiah CA

Category & Type :

Museums

Location :

431 South Main Street , Ukiah CA

Phone :

707-467-2836

Website :

http://www.gracehudsonmuseum.org

Information about Grace Hudson Museum and Sun House...

The Sun House was built by Artist Grace Carpenter Hudson and her ethnologist husband. Dr. John W. Hudson. The home is now a museum displaying here art and a outstanding collection of local Native American handwork. Open Wed thur Sat 10:00 to 4:30 Sun 12:00 to 4:30 Fee Varies.    Since its inauguration in 1986, the Grace Hudson Museum has become an increasingly important cultural and educational resource for Northern California. The Museum's collections consist of more than 30,000 inter-related objects, with significant holdings of Pomo Indian artifacts (particularly basketry) ethnographic field notes, unpublished manuscripts, historic photographs and the world's largest collection of Grace Hudson paintings. The Museum's exhibitions and public programs are thematically shaped by, and linked to, its collections with their focus on Western art, history and anthropology. The Museum also houses a gift store with exhibition-related merchandise and high quality books, children's items, local crafts and t-shirts. The Museum sits on the four acre Hudson-Carpenter Park containing picnic tables shaded by ancient oaks and a basketry garden featuring the plants used by Pomo Indian weavers to create their baskets.
    The Sun House, the Hudsons' charming 1911 redwood Craftsman bungalow home, is adjacent to the Museum. It is interpreted for the public with docent led tours leaving from the Museum. Designed by John and Grace Hudson and furnished with the Hudsons' eclectic possessions, the Sun House allows visitors a glimpse into their Bohemian lifestyle. The Sun House is California Historical Landmark #926 and is listed in the National Register of Historic Places.
    The Grace Hudson Museum is a division of the City of Ukiah's Community Services department. The City owns and operates the Museum with a professional staff and the support of the Sun House Guild.
Grace (1865-1937) was born to well-educated pioneer parents in Potter Valley, California, Mendocino County. She showed an early talent for portraiture that was developed by professional training in San Francisco in the late 1870's. In 1891, soon after her marriage to John, she painted a portrait of an Indian child, "National Thorn", that was first in a numbered series of over 684 oils, the last completed in 1935. Nearly all her native subjects were local Pomo peoples, although in 1901 she painted 26 canvases during a year's sojurn in the Hawaiian Islands. Hudson's reputation as an Indian painter was national during her lifetime; today her work enjoys renewed interest and recognition for its fine and sympathetic portrayals of native peoples.
John Hudson (1857-1936) was Nashville born and raised. He went to medical school and practiced medicine for a few years before emigrating to Northern California in 1889. His interest in Tennessee archaeology soon grew into a fascination with the native peoples of Mendocino County, and Hudson gave up his medical practice within 5 years of his marriage to Grace Carpenter. Hudson spent the rest of his life as a collector-scholar, amassing significant collections of California Indian basketry and other ethnographic artifacts that are prized today in the Smithsonian Institution, the Field Museum in Chicago, the Brooklyn Museum, and the Grace Hudson Museum in Ukiah. The extensive manuscripts and correspondence of John Hudson form the heart of the museum's research collection. Over the centuries, the relationship that Californians have had with the grizzly bear is one of dualities – expressed in fear and fascination. Although extinct in the state, the grizzly has been a central character in California’s history. "Bear In Mind: The Story of the California Grizzly" is a traveling exhibition that tells the compelling story of one of California’s most beloved and feared animals.

"Bear In Mind" uses striking images, informative text, memorabilia, a variety of historical and scientific objects, and hands-on activities to engage visitors of all ages. The exhibition is divided into three thematic sections:

1. Loss of the Grizzlies This first section discusses the reasons behind the extinction of the California grizzly, documenting early Californian’s attitudes about the bears through powerful quotes and historic illustrations and photographs.

2. The Truth About Grizzlies This section presents scientifically accurate information about bear biology, dispelling many of the myths surrounding the legendary predator. The section’s topics include what we knew about California grizzlies before the extinction, the differences between the California black bear and grizzly bear, where grizzlies can be found today, and the lessons learned from the loss of California grizzly that can be applied to other threatened species.

3. Bears In Our Imagination Today, the California grizzly lives only in our imaginations as symbols of things desired and things lost. This final section investigates how the image of the California grizzly has been used as an icon, advertiser, and entertainer.