Search function and database solution for “homemade” website

Background

I’m about to build a website for a deceased artist (painter) – my dad.
The site will contain a huge amount of data (not only about the painter himself).
So I want the site to have a search function connected to a database.
Aside from that, the site will not include any other sort of interaction – apart from the mail service of course.

I don’t have any skills or experiences in building databases.
Nor do I have many skills using CMS (like Drupal, Wordpress, Joomla, etc.).
HTML and CSS is what I manage quite ok.

The Question

What will be the best – and easiest - way to build the website – considering my skills and needs:

1. A CMS based site (I’m thinking of Drupal) where I have everything fixed, such as databases and modules for search functions. The backside of it is the uncertainty regarding updates for modules and the time to learn about using and modifying the CMS to my needs and design preferences)?
2. A CMS based site (I’m thinking of Drupal) where I have everything fixed, such as databases and modules for search functions. The backside of it is the uncertainty regarding updates for modules and the time to learn about using and modifying the CMS to my needs and design preferences)?

Or marking up the website myself and using some kind of “ready to use solution” for a search function with a database? I would very much like the latter alternative, if there exists some “ready to use solution” like a search function with a database.
I’d like to learn about it if anybody could tell me where to find it.
That will maybe also be a faster way to build the site and it will not be so “heavy” compared with a CMS based one, I think.
But there are probably many other aspects on this.

I appreciate all ideas, tips and suggestions!