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Albert Robert Valentien (1862–1925) was an American
Ellen Browning Scripps commissioned Valentien to paint a series of illustrations of California wildflowers with the intention of publishing a compendium of the flora of California. Valentien worked on the project for ten years, and the scope of botanical subjects grew to encompass native grasses, ferns, and trees. Scripps ultimately decided not to publish the flora. Her estate donated most of his paintings in her collection, 1094 in total, to the San Diego Natural History Museum in 1933. San Diego Natural History Museum: Albert Valentien
/ref> Albert Robert Valentien died on August 5, 1925 in
Valentien's paintings and art pottery work are represented in collections of the
The San Diego Natural History Museum−theNat.org: The Valentien Collection
— ''with 1,094 botanical watercolor paintings''.
San Diego Natural History Museum−theNat.org: Information on the artist, and the conservation/exhibition of his paintings
The San Diego Natural History Museum Research Library
houses a significant collection of Albert Valentien's paintings and papers. {{DEFAULTSORT:Valentien, Albert Robert Botanical illustrators American ceramists American watercolorists 1862 births 1925 deaths Painters from California People associated with the San Diego Natural History Museum University of Cincinnati alumni 19th-century American painters American male painters 20th-century American painters 20th-century American male artists 19th-century American male artists Rookwood Pottery Company
painter
Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called the "matrix" or "support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush, but other implements, such as knives, sponges, and ai ...
, botanical artist
Botanical illustration is the art of depicting the form, color, and details of plant species, frequently in watercolor paintings. They must be scientifically accurate but often also have an artistic component and may be printed with a botanical ...
, and ceramic artist
Ceramic art is art made from ceramic materials, including clay. It may take forms including artistic pottery, including tableware, tiles, figurines and other sculpture. As one of the plastic arts, ceramic art is one of the visual arts. Whi ...
. He is best known for his work as the chief ceramics decorator at Rookwood Pottery
Rookwood Pottery is an American ceramics company that was founded in 1880 and closed in 1967, before being revived in 2004. It was initially located in the Over-the-Rhine neighborhood in Cincinnati, Ohio, and has now returned there. In its heyday ...
, and for his watercolor painting
Watercolor (American English
American English, sometimes called United States English or U.S. English, is the set of variety (linguistics), varieties of the English language native to the United States. English is the Languages of the U ...
s of botanical subjects. In 1908, he accepted a commission from philanthropist Ellen Browning Scripps
Ellen Browning Scripps (October 18, 1836 – August 3, 1932) was an American journalist and philanthropist who was the founding donor of several major institutions in Southern California. She and her half-brother E. W. Scripps created the E. W. ...
to illustrate the botanical diversity of California. Over the next ten years, he produced approximately 1200 watercolor "plant portraits" of native California wildflowers, grasses, ferns, and trees.
Biography
Valentien was born inCincinnati
Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wit ...
, Ohio on 11 May 1862, to Anna Marie Wolter and Frederick Valentine. He studied art at the School of Design of the University of Cincinnati
The University of Cincinnati (UC or Cincinnati) is a public research university in Cincinnati, Ohio. Founded in 1819 as Cincinnati College, it is the oldest institution of higher education in Cincinnati and has an annual enrollment of over 44,00 ...
(later the Art Academy of Cincinnati), working with Thomas S. Noble and Frank Duveneck
Frank Duveneck (né Decker; October 9, 1848 – January 3, 1919) was an American figure and portrait painter.
Early life
Duveneck was born in Covington, Kentucky, the son of German immigrant Bernhard Decker. Decker died in a cholera epidemic whe ...
. With fellow student John Rettig, Valentien studied decoration of china, learning underglazed pottery decoration from T(homas) J. Wheatley.
He married artist Anna Marie Bookprinter (née Buchdrucker) in 1887.
Rookwood
In 1884 he joined theRookwood Pottery Company
Rookwood Pottery is an American ceramics company that was founded in 1880 and closed in 1967, before being revived in 2004. It was initially located in the Over-the-Rhine neighborhood in Cincinnati, Ohio, and has now returned there. In its heyday ...
, and led the art pottery's decoration department for the next twenty years.
In 1903, the Valentiens visited Southern California
Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and Cultural area, cultural region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. It includes the Los Angeles metropolitan area, the second most po ...
, staying several months with Anna's brother in Dulzura, a small community southeast of San Diego. During that visit, Valentien produced 135 paintings of California wildflowers, exhibiting the collection at the State Normal School in San Diego (present day San Diego State University
San Diego State University (SDSU) is a public research university in San Diego, California. Founded in 1897 as San Diego Normal School, it is the third-oldest university and southernmost in the 23-member California State University (CSU) system ...
).
Retiring from Rookwood in 1905, the Valentiens moved to San Diego in 1908.
California flora
Ellen Browning Scripps commissioned Valentien to paint a series of illustrations of California wildflowers with the intention of publishing a compendium of the flora of California. Valentien worked on the project for ten years, and the scope of botanical subjects grew to encompass native grasses, ferns, and trees. Scripps ultimately decided not to publish the flora. Her estate donated most of his paintings in her collection, 1094 in total, to the San Diego Natural History Museum in 1933./ref> Albert Robert Valentien died on August 5, 1925 in
San Diego, California
San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the eighth most populous city in the United States ...
.
Collections
Valentien's paintings and art pottery work are represented in collections of the San Diego Natural History Museum
The San Diego Natural History Museum is a museum located in Balboa Park in San Diego, California. It was founded in 1874 as the San Diego Society of Natural History. It is the second oldest scientific institution west of the Mississippi and th ...
, the Cincinnati Art Museum
The Cincinnati Art Museum is an art museum in the Eden Park neighborhood of Cincinnati, Ohio. Founded in 1881, it was the first purpose-built art museum west of the Alleghenies, and is one of the oldest in the United States. Its collection of ov ...
, the California State Library
The California State Library is the state library of the State of California, founded in 1850 by the California State Legislature. The Library collects, preserves, generates and disseminates a wide array of information. Today, it is the central ...
, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art
The Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) is an art museum located on Wilshire Boulevard in the Miracle Mile, Los Angeles, California, Miracle Mile vicinity of Los Angeles. LACMA is on Museum Row, adjacent to the La Brea Tar Pits (George C. Pa ...
(LACMA), and in private collections.
See also
*List of California native plants
California native plants are plants that existed in California prior to the arrival of European explorers and colonists in the late 18th century. California includes parts of at least three phytochoria. The largest is the California Floristic ...
*
References
Further reading
* *External links
The San Diego Natural History Museum−theNat.org: The Valentien Collection
— ''with 1,094 botanical watercolor paintings''.
San Diego Natural History Museum−theNat.org: Information on the artist, and the conservation/exhibition of his paintings
The San Diego Natural History Museum Research Library
houses a significant collection of Albert Valentien's paintings and papers. {{DEFAULTSORT:Valentien, Albert Robert Botanical illustrators American ceramists American watercolorists 1862 births 1925 deaths Painters from California People associated with the San Diego Natural History Museum University of Cincinnati alumni 19th-century American painters American male painters 20th-century American painters 20th-century American male artists 19th-century American male artists Rookwood Pottery Company