Bruce Crane (1857-1937) Winter Idyl, 1917, oil on canvas. Courtesy photo

MILFORD – A pop-up exhibition and sale of winter-themed paintings at New Hampshire Antique Co-op was launched on February 27 and will remain featured there on display through April 30.

The exhibit, “After the Storm: American Winter Landscapes,” spotlights seven American artists and others whose duffel bags surely included snowshoes, thermals and woolen socks to prevent frostbite.

The precautions helped sustain their passion for “plein air” painting, a style executed outdoors, out in the plain air, with the intent of capturing a landscape’s unique lighting and the ephemeral elements of winter, despite sometimes frigid extremes.

“With the most recent blizzard, we were inspired to create a pop-up exhibition on winter landscape paintings,” said Jason Hackler, manager and co-owner of the family business. New Hampshire Antique Co-op was founded by Sam Hackler in 1983. It is an active family business where one can often find three generations working together.

“We truly enjoy bringing together exhibitions that celebrate New England artists and the landscapes they’ve interpreted for more than a century,” Jason added. “It’s a wonderful way to highlight the enduring appeal of this region to painters.”

Aldro Thompson Hibbard (1886-1972) Winter Solitude, oil on canvas. Courtesy photo

The artists of renown in the new exhibition include 19th-century painters Aldro Thompson Hibbard, Emile Gruppe, William Lester Stevens, Arthur Clifton Goodwin and Bruce Crane, along with contemporary artists William R. Davis, Erik Koeppel, David Dodge and T.M. Nicholas.

A dozen more artists join those of high fame. Each expresses wintery depictions in their own interpretation of frosty tones of white, grey, lavender, blue and silver that best capture sky and shadow.

Rebecca Connolly Hackler notes that for these artists, the challenges of working directly outdoors in the wintertime included frozen fingers, raging winds and rapidly changing light conditions due to winter’s seasonal early darkness.

Aldro Thompson Hibbard, she said, painted outdoors in subzero temperatures, sometimes tying his paint brushes to his freezing hands to continue painting.

She added that Impressionist and Tonalist painters tend to embrace winter for the way snow, ice and barren trees bring a strong sense of emotion to the look of a frosted landscape. Erik Koeppel, David Dodge, William R. Davis and T.M. Nicholas all work in plein air style throughout the year, with seasonal nuances captured in paint.

William R. Davis (b.1952) "Winter Twilight," oil on panel. Courtesy photo

“Collectively, these works show how winter has inspired generations of painters who embraced it as both a challenge and an inspiration,” Rebecca Connolly Hackler added. “The artists are drawn by the enduring fascination of capturing winter’s essence.”

The Hackler family — Sam, Eileen, Jason and Rebecca — and their team welcome the public to New Hampshire Antique Co-op, a multi-story venue of galleries and dealer spaces, featuring more than 200 professional dealers and 2,000 consignors of all manner of goods ranging from fine art, period furniture and distinctive decor to jewelry, porcelain, books and more.

New Hampshire Antique Co-op is open Tuesday through Sunday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. More information is available online at nhantiquecoop.com or call 603-673-8499.

Jason Hackler, left, New Hampshire Antique Co-op manager and co-owner, and shop associate Myles Brancani, a Milford High School student with a passion for history and art, invite you to a new pop-up exhibit, "After the Storm: American Winter Landscapes," on display through April 30. Photo by LORETTA JACKSON