Celebrate "Valentien's Day" with Us!

Published by the Two Red Roses Foundation, February 14, 2020

In honor of St. Valentine’s Day, we are celebrating an Arts and Crafts enterprise from the past that was born of love – a husband and wife creative team named the Valentiens. Acclaimed artists Anna and Albert Valentien had many talents, but are most known for creating innovative and beautiful Arts and Crafts pottery (Fig. 1).

Cincinnati, OH, natives Anna Marie Bookprinter (1862-1947) and Albert Robert Valentien (1862-1925) met while working at Rookwood Pottery Company in that city. Albert was hired as Rookwood’s first decorator in 1881, shortly after the company opened, and later led that department. Anna joined in 1884 as a decorator, and the couple married in 1887. Cincinnati played a major role in the development of the Arts and Crafts movement in the United States, and the Valentiens were at the epicenter of this creative environment.

While working for Rookwood, Anna and Albert developed their artistic oeuvre. Anna furthered her art studies – especially figural sculpture – and exhibited often, receiving acclaim for work she submitted to the World’s Columbian Exposition of 1893. The next year, Rookwood sent Albert to Europe for three months to study pottery manufacturing, a visit which had lasting influence on his work and that of Rookwood. In the early 1890s, Rookwood’s decorators typically created naturalistic painted decorations, finished with their glossy Standard glaze. By the end of the decade, however, their wares included a variety of new forms – including figural vases by Anna – and the matte glazes that Albert studied in France. The European experience may have also influenced Albert’s choice of name, as it was probably after this trip that he changed his original surname “Valentine” to “Valentien.”

In 1899, Albert made another extended trip to Europe, preparing Rookwood’s prize-winning display for the 1900 Paris Exposition Universelle. Anna joined her husband in Paris, where she continued her sculpture studies. On this trip Albert began painting wildflowers, a familiar subject from his work at Rookwood. His careful observation and masterful design skills are reflected in a vase painted with poppies he created for Rookwood in 1900 (Fig. 2).

The Valentiens resigned from Rookwood in 1905 to pursue other interests, and three years later Albert’s study of wildflowers prompted their move to San Diego, CA. Soon he was commissioned to paint an extensive visual encyclopedia of the wildflowers, plants, and trees of California, each rendered in gouache and watercolor. By 1911 the couple also established the Valentien Pottery, where they produced and decorated a variety of molded vessels and tiles (Fig. 3).

During the pottery’s short life, the Valentiens produced a series of artistic designs, mostly decorated with stylized flowers and insects in relief. One standout is Anna’s massive sculptural vase with three siren-like figures around its shoulder (Figs. 4, 5). The piece reflects her familiarity with European sculpture and ceramics, particularly Art Nouveau.

The Valentien Pottery was not sustainable, and by November, 1913, the company failed. Their body of work was small, but it is much beloved in art pottery circles. Albert’s California flora volume was never published, but he continued to paint until his death in 1925. Anna sculpted, painted, and taught crafts at a local high school. She continued to support local art students in their endeavors until her death in 1947 at the age of eighty-five. The couple’s collaborative pottery venture and their legacies of masterful work continue to amaze and inspire to this day.