After working in Oklahoma Territory in 1904-1906, Grace and John Hudson returned to Ukiah, California.

They led a modest bohemian lifestyle of collecting, traveling, field work, reading, entertaining, photography and painting.

Grace Hudson bequeathed The Sun House and its land to her nephew, Mark Carpenter.

Carpenter preserved the house and its 30,000 collected objects for posterity, giving it to the City of Ukiah.

The museum's website says of Grace Hudson, "...her work enjoys renewed interest and recognition for its fine and sympathetic portrayals of native peoples.