As more and more Washingtonians crave weekend getaways, Easton, Md., just across the Chesapeake Bay Bridge, is an ideal choice for art lovers — especially those who make gallery hopping an art form in itself.
Troika Gallery on Harrison Street, Easton’s main drag is an interesting standout among many welcoming venues. Its red brick building with a contrasting bright blue awning sits on a brick sidewalk across from the town’s stately Tidewater Inn.
Inside the front door, the visitor encounters subdued lighting with paintings hung on large black cubes, themselves resting on gleaming, polished wood flooring. The elegant ambiance is felt immediately, along with the charm of a friendly working studio.
Troika is owned by three professional artists, Dorothy F. Newland, Laura Era and Jennifer Heyd Wharton who will celebrate the gallery’s 13th year of operation this coming November. The name, Troika was taken from a remark made by their attorney when he came into the shop before opening. He offhandedly said,
“Ah- ha! The Troika is here!” Troika, the women learned is Greek for a committee of three and seemed like the perfect name for their artistic operation.
“We [deal] predominately in paintings, meaning two-dimensional art,” said co-owner, Laura Era. “Three-quarters of the paintings are oil — oil is very popular and the granddaddy of all paintings.”
More than 30 artists are represented exclusively at the gallery and in addition to oils, the gallery features water color, pastels, pencil work and scratchboard. An unusual medium, scratchboard is an art form wherein a clay board is covered in a black coating. Fine-needle tools scratch away at the coating in various strokes to form black and white art.
The gallery also displays some sculpture by two artists who work in bronze as well as fine pottery porcelain that the owners import from an artist in China.
From now through May 31, Troika is hosting its widely popular Spring Group Show with brand new, original works by 33 of their artists. All of the pieces are for sale and may be taken home on the day of purchase rather than having the buyer wait for the show to end.
“This is not the same show that was here a week ago,” Era continued. “Because things sell, and we hang up new pieces. It’s evolving as the two months go along.”
As businesswoman, the three artist/owners are happy to see that evolution.
Co-owner Wharton takes great pleasure in the buyers’ satisfaction when she notes, “There have been times when people come in here and say, ‘I don’t have to go to New York for my art anymore — its right here in Easton.'”
