Plein Air Easton Hall of Fame 2025: Troika Gallery

This article is part of a special series celebrating the 2025 inductees into the Plein Air Easton Hall of Fame. Now in its second year, the Hall of Fame honors individuals, organizations, and patrons whose dedication, creativity, and support have helped shape Plein Air Easton into the nationally recognized event it is today.

Before Plein Air Easton was anything more than a spark of an idea, Laura Era was already saying yes.

Yes to the idea of Easton as an arts town. Yes to a fledgling plein air festival. And when developer Timothy Dills—who owned Talbot Town Shopping Center and had helped Troika Gallery find its footing—asked whether he should back this unknown thing with actual money.

“We told him, yes,” said Laura, “My gosh, yes.”

Troika was already established then, a fine art gallery run by three professional artists—Laura, Jennifer Heyd Wharton, and Dorothy Newland. When the idea of Plein Air Easton started taking shape, Laura and her partners did what they’ve always done: they showed up.

There were planning meetings, early judging panels, and community conversations about what this could be. Troika even helped sponsor one of the very first awards. “It was a Troika Gallery award… I forgot what the category was—it could have been for Best New Artist or something like that,” she said. There were also the Sunday auctions at private estates, figuring out logistics late into the night, only to be up again at the crack of dawn, making it all happen. “We did what had to be done,” she says. “It was a lot of work.”

However, if you’re picturing clipboards and spreadsheets, think again. Laura’s memories of those early years aren’t just about logistics—they’re also about stories. Like the time a local homeowner stood up in the middle of an auction and confronted a bidder trying to buy a painting of her house. She had a cane. She made it clear: this was her estate, her painting, and she wasn’t leaving without it.

“She walked over to the person outbidding her, like the Grim Reaper,” Laura said, laughing, “and said, ‘I am bidding on that painting.’ And this poor man… he just kind of folded.”

But that’s part of it, too. Plein Air Easton has always had moments like that. The kind you don’t forget. The kind you’re still laughing about twenty years later.

Back then, Troika also hosted exhibitions of the judges’ work. Kenn Backhaus and West Fraser were among the first. The gallery was where things were happening—it was a hub, a backdrop, a resource. When Laura heard that the Avalon team was looking for a judge for the 15th anniversary, she suggested Dr. Dan Weiss, then President of the Met Museum in New York. He came. He judged. “That was a big coup, and now that he’s retired to the Shore,” she said, “he keeps showing up—most recently to judge Troika’s ‘Fabulous Forgeries’ show.”

Like everything else on the Eastern Shore, Plein Air Easton has grown. What started as a few days in one town has become a sprawling, multi-location event stretching across counties. The artists go to Oxford, Tilghman, and St. Michaels. There’s more art, more collectors, more energy. And yes, many more galleries.

“At first we were the only ones,” Laura says. “Then they started popping up, and we wondered—are we creating competition for ourselves?”

She smiles when she says it.

Troika has always played the long game. Laura never set out to be the “plein air gallery”—her artists are landscape painters, portrait artists, and sculptors. Some do plein air; some don’t. But they’re all serious professionals. And Troika, for 28 years now, has been a place for serious art.

It started with three artists and the idea that Easton deserved a proper fine art gallery. They brought in other artists they admired—about fifteen to start—and built a reputation on quality. Dorothy passed away a few years ago. Jennifer moved to South Carolina. Laura now runs it on her own, with help from her gallery manager, Peg. They represent over 40 artists.

“We’re just about fine art,” she says. “Not just plein air.”

Still, she knows what plein air brings to the town. The immediacy. The sense of occasion. The magic of seeing a painting that was made just hours before, fresh from the easel. “You capture the moment, the feel,” she says. “And hopefully the viewer connects enough to open their wallet.”

That combination—the energy of the artists and the willingness of the community to support them—is part of what makes Plein Air Easton unique. The volunteers, the venues, and the patrons who open their homes. And then there is the Avalon Foundation’s attention to detail— the steady hand of leadership from Al Bond, Jessica Bellis, and the team behind the scenes.

“They’ve done a phenomenal job,” Laura says. “I can’t say enough good about them.”

When Al called to let her know she’d been selected for the Hall of Fame, Laura wasn’t sure what to say. There’s a long history here—long memories, long hours, long friendships—and it’s not easy to sum up what all of that has meant.

But the recognition matters.

“In my opinion,” she says, “we were definitely worthy. And we are very humbly pleased.”

The truth is, without people like Laura Era, there might not have been a Plein Air Easton. There certainly wouldn’t have been one with this kind of foundation—this kind of credibility—this kind of heart.

Easton has changed. The festival has grown. But Troika is still here, holding the door open. Still saying yes.