The Journal of San Diego History
SAN DIEGO HISTORICAL SOCIETY QUARTERLY
Summer 1978, Volume 24, Number 3
Thomas L. Scharf, Managing Editor

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Anna and Albert Valentien

Page 346. At left, Anna and Albert Valentien in the garden of their Georgia Street home.

Rookwood Pottery

Page 346. The Rookwood Pottery, in Cincinnati, Ohio, where the two artists first met is seen below about 1890.

Some of Rookwood's decorators

Page 347. Some of Rookwood’s decorators gathered for the photograph in 1890. Albert is standing in the center with Anna next to him.

Valentiens' home at 3903 Georgia Street

Page 348. The photograph was taken about 1908 and shows the Valentiens’ home at 3903 Georgia Street before the Georgia Street bridge was constructed over University Avenue.

Albert paints at his easel

Page 348. Albert paints at his easel in the country.

the Valentien pottery plant

Page 350. Irving Gill was the designer of the Valentien pottery plant at the northeast comer of Texas Street and University Avenue. The pottery is shown here about 1912.

interior view

Page 350. An interior view displays shelves lined with ware ready to be decorated.

Anna and Albert at work

Page 351. Anna and Albert at work in the decorating room of the Valentien pottery plant. Arthur Dovey stands in the background. The girl may have been Dovey’s daughter.

Anna's sculpture Ariadne

Page 352. Anna’s sculpture “Ariadne” was exhibited at Chicago’s Columbian Exposition of 1893. According to Greek legend, Ariadne was abandoned on the island of Naxos by Theseus after she had helped him escape from the Minotaur.

bust

Page 352. Anna modeled this expressive bust while studying in Paris. It was frequently copied by students in her modeling classes.

pen and ink sketch

Page 353. The pen and ink sketch is by Anna Valentien.

award medal of the San Diego Floral Association

Page 353. Albert Valentien was the designer of the award medal of the San Diego Floral Association. This particular example was awarded to Kate Sessions in 1937.

bust

Page 354. Anna produced several portrait heads of which this is an early example. The bust rests on a seashell supported by a column of from.

humorous sketch

Page 354. Albert created this humorous sketch of his wife, her peth strewn with medals and a laurel crown, after her award in Atlanta.

Valentien Pottery Company mark

Page 355. The Valentien Pottery Company used this mark to identify their ware.

Examples of Valentien Pottery Company ware   Examples of Valentien Pottery Company ware

Page 355. Examples of Valentien Pottery Company ware. Anna modeled the large figural piece seen also in an overhead view at the left which stands 16″ tall. The other pieces are (left to right): a peacock feather design with mat green glaze, a fushsia design having a pale blue to green glaze, painted flowers on mauve to pale yellow-green glaze, a geometric design with phosphorescent color effects, and a second fuchsia vase with a pale orange to yellow glaze.

Hero Waiting for Leander

Page 356. “Hero Waiting for Leander” won a gold medal for Anna when it was exhibited at the Atlanta Exposition of 1895. Hero, a priestess of Venus, lived in an island tower. Each night Leander, guided by her torch, would swim the Hellespont to see her.

student copper work

Page 358. A display of student copper work from Anna’s metalcraft class.

Anna and some of her early students

Page 359. Anna and some of her early students were photographed in front of the “B” Street School. Donal Hord is on the left next to Anna. The girls are, left to right, Dorr Bothwell (who later became Hord’s first wife), Janet Heldring, Elizabeth Hoops and an unidentified student. Anna later wrote, “My most outstanding pupil is Donal Hord who came to me when he was still in knee breeches.”

Donal Hord

Page 359. Hord is seen opposite in his apartment on Tenth Street working on a sculpture project about 1922.

Louis T. Rebizzo and students at Cincinnati Academy

Page 361. Louis T. Rebizzo and the students of his sculpture class at the Cincinnati Academy about 1896. Anna is seated in front of the model and next to her is Solon Borglum (with moustache). Solon, brother of Gutzon Borglum, became one of America’s finest Western sculptors. Anna owned a plaster horse by him which she later used as a model for her own sculpture students to copy.