Hudson Day is an art historian pursuing study in the art and culture of the ancient Indigenous Americas. He received a BA in Art History from the University of Texas at Austin, completing an honors thesis on ancient West Mexican ceramic art housed in on-campus collections advised by Dr. Astrid Runggaldier. He is interested in research on object provenience and looting, issues surrounding the ethics of collecting and archaeology, scholarly recovery of Indigenous knowledge and visuality, and contemporary interactions with the ancient world.

At UT Austin, Hudson completed certificate programs in Museum Studies and Native American and Indigenous Studies, involving interdisciplinary coursework in anthropology, archaeology, linguistics, history, Latin American studies and American studies. With broad experience in ancient Mesoamerican art, Hudson studied under Dr. David Stuart and Dr. Julia Guernsey, completing research projects on the Mexica (Aztec), the Maya, and historically ‘peripheral’ areas like ancient West Mexico. He is also deeply fascinated by the art of the ancient Andes, helping to produce an exhibition of primarily Peruvian ceramics of the pre-Inka period both in-person as a preparator and as the editor of the exhibit’s digital counterpart.

Hudson’s ongoing research at Rice University currently involves ancient American artworks held in the Rice Art Collections, including investigation of their complex acquisition histories, cultural biographies and multivalent iconographies.

Publications & Exhibitions

“Antiquities Action: Ten Years of Action: Defending Cultural Heritage, Commemorative Review 2015-2025,” contributor/editor, February 22, 2025.

“Unearthing Shaft Tombs: Enlivening Ancient West Mexican Ceramics in the UT Art & Art History Collections,” May 25, 2025.

Modeled in Clay: Worldviews in Ancient Peru (The Art and Art History Collection), editor/co-curator/preparator, May 2026.