Women’s History Month: A California Painter Who Captured the Daily Lives of The Pomo Native Americans
Here
in the United States, we celebrate the accomplishments of women every
March. Most often, these women are well
known, like Eleanor Roosevelt and Harriet Tubman. No doubt, these two women were remarkable,
and their accomplishments are indelibly ingrained in our historic memory bank. Nevertheless, countless women have
contributed noteworthy accomplishments as well. What follows is the story of just one of
those women.
Grace’s Early History
Near the end of the 1800s, when women had
very few choices, especially when it came to careers, California native, Grace
Carpenter Hudson became a well-known, extraordinarily successful painter. This might not be of much interest to most
unless you consider some of her subjects.
More on that later. For now,
let’s learn more about Grace.
Born to the first white schoolteacher for
the Pomo Native American tribe and an accomplished artist, Grace expressed her
artistic abilities at a young age. As a
teenager, she entered the San Francisco School of Design and thrived winning a
prestigious award after only two years of study.
After a brief marriage, which prompted Grace
to leave school, she returned home to Ukiah where she continued creating
award-winning art. Much of her work at
this time was commercial art for popular publications like Cosmopolitan.
Grace’s
Career and Love Life Gets a Boost!
The second time was a charm for
Grace. She met and married a man, John
Hudson, who cherished her and her work. As
kindred spirits, they cared for many of the same ideals, including native
peoples, especially the Pomo. Thus, he encouraged Grace to concentrate on painting their Pomo neighbors.
Serendipitously, her work was perfectly
timed with a nation’s intense interest in our native peoples. In fact, some of these works were exhibited
in the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair.
Overall, Grace painted over 600 portraits of the Pomo’s daily life.
Grace’s work was so highly prized and in
demand that she exhausted herself. So,
in 1900 she ventured to the Territory of Hawaii – not yet a state – for a yearlong
solo vacation. Interestingly, she didn’t use her time sunbathing. She painted 26 works of art focusing on
Hawaiians, Chinese and Japanese. Upon
her return, Grace and John spent some time in Oklahoma Territory where she
painted and sketched the Pawnee.
Grace
is Gone, But Her Work Remains With Us.
Today, Hudson’s home, which was given
as a gift to the City of Ukiah, is one of California’s Historical Landmarks.
Grace and John named their home The Sun House and adorned it with the Hopi sign of the sun above the front door.
It sits, along with a Grace Hudson Museum, on four acres known as
Hudson-Carpenter City Park.
Keep Reading
Women's History
Month: Who is Elizabeth "Bessie" Coleman (1892-1926)
Women's History
Month: Who is Helen Hunt Jackson 1831-1885
Women’s
History Month: Annie Bidwell (1839 – 1918)
Picture Credit
Grace Carpenter Hudson
We Got Him (No.
463) 1915
Public Domain
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