Ted DeGrazia's Gallery & Mission in the Sun

I think this little studio in North Tucson is one of Arizona's hidden treasures. It's quirky, it's beautiful and it's free.

Ettore "Ted" DeGrazia, the son of Italian immigrants, painted mostly Southwestern designs with an emphasis on Native Americans, missionaries and Spanish soldiers. He built his studio (pictured above) and studio out of adobe brick.

The beautiful mission (pictured above) nearby was built to honor Father Kino, the missionary who established a system of missions in Arizona. DeGrazia dedicated his mission to the Virgin of Guadalupe and painted her image on the altar.

An interesting bit of trivia: To protest inheritance taxes on works of art, DeGrazia took about 100 of his paintings into the Superstition Mountains (yes, the same place where the Lost Dutchman's Goldmine is supposedly located), and he burned them.