Plant Portraits: The California Legacy of A. R. Valentien, a 212 page book with 325 full color plates. This book includes information on native California plants, the art historical perspective of Valentien's work, and the significance of conservation of California's biodiversity. Produced by The Irvine Museum, in collaboration with the San Diego Natural History Museum, the book brings Valentien's stunning watercolors into print for the first time and features chapters written by Dr. Peter Raven, Dr. Exequiel Ezcurra, Margaret Dykens and Jean Stern.

A.R. Valentien, a prominent artist of the American Arts and Crafts movement, was commissioned by Ellen Browning Scripps in San Diego in the early 1900s to create watercolor paintings of all the native California plants. This monumental work of 1094 original paintings, which took him 10 years to complete, came to the San Diego Natural History Museum in 1933 after Miss Scripps' death. These exquisite paintings are breathtakingly fresh and lifelike in their color and detail.