San Diego, June 22, 2004--The San Diego Natural History Museum announces a new product line featuring the botanical paintings of A. R. Valentien. The line currently includes note cards and fine art prints, with production in progress on coffee mugs, silk scarves and tote bags, due this fall.

Wholesale and retail sale of these products helps support the Museum's mission: to interpret the natural world through research, education and exhibits and to inspire in all a respect for nature and the environment. All products display images of California native plants, as rendered by Valentien in the early 1900s.

The development of unique products is part of a Key Result Area of the Museum's new 10-year strategic plan: to build a diversified, stable base of support impervious to economic fluctuations, thus ensuring the long-term viability of the Museum's programs and services.

The full-color note cards, packaged in a matching keepsake box, are offered in two different assortments with four each of three designs. The first assortment includes the Hairy Matilija Poppy, Washington Lily, and California Lilac. The second assortment includes the California Poppy, Ocellated Humboldt Lily, and Ocotillo. The fine art botanical prints include the California Poppy, the Hairy Matilija Poppy, the Ocellated Humboldt Lily and the Ocotillo. The Museum also offers custom orders for prints of other paintings in the Valentien collection.

In collaboration with The Irvine Museum, a 212-page book has also been produced about the life and work of A. R. Valentien. Plant Portraits: The California Legacy of A. R. Valentien,is available for purchase in the Museum Store along with the other Valentien products. All products can be seen and ordered on the Museum's website at http://www.sdnhm.org/store/valentiens.html

Almost 100 years ago, the artist Albert Valentien began a project that was ten years in the execution. He began his work in 1908, when he was commissioned by Ellen Browning Scripps to paint the wildflowers of California, and the plan was to publish a book of the paintings when he finished. However, in the end Miss Scripps decided the cost was too prohibitive and Valentien's hope of seeing his work reproduced and admired by a large audience was dashed. Through all these years, the collection has been seen by only a few fortunate people, who longed to share with the public the breathtaking freshness and liveliness of these 'plant portraits,' as Mr. Valentien himself called them.

In 2000, thanks to the commitment and wonderful generosity of Eleanor and Jerome Navarra, the Valentien Project, which would entail photographing, conserving, cataloging, and eventually exhibiting the collection, began.

Eighty of Valentien's paintings are currently on display at the San Diego Natural History Museum in the world-premiere exhibition, Plant Portraits: The California Legacy of A.R. Valentien, through September 7, 2004. In addition to the paintings, the exhibition- produced by the San Diego Natural History Museum with generous funding from Eleanor and Jerry Navarra.-includes examples of Valentien's Rookwood pottery, landscapes in oil, historical photographs, and personal artifacts. After its debut in San Diego, the exhibition will tour to museums and gardens across the United States, underwritten by The Irvine Foundation.

The San Diego Natural History Museum is located at 1788 El Prado in Balboa Park, San Diego, California. It is open every day of the year except Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Years. Hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Admission is all-inclusive. The Museum is free to visitors on the first Tuesday of each month. For current prices and more detailed information on exhibits and films, visitors can visit the Museum's award-winning website, www.sdnhm.org.

EDITOR'S NOTE: Beautiful images of Valentien's watercolors are available on CDs. Please email or call Delle Willett for more information or for an interview with the Exhibition Curator, Margi Dykens.

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