New Bedford’s Arthur Moniz Gallery Will Close in a Matter of Weeks

A landmark business in downtown New Bedford is closing down. After more than 24 years across from the Whaling Museum, the widow of the late Arthur Moniz has made the difficult decision to close the Arthur Moniz Gallery.

Before his death in February of 2018, Moniz had a flair for capturing snapshots of real life scenes here on the SouthCoast. His wife Cheryl said there's no doubt about it, Arthur's popularity has continued to grow over the past four years.

Why Did Moniz Decide to Close the Gallery?

"COVID did a number on us," Moniz said. "We were closed for a number of months. With my age and compromised health, I'm not able to be down there and meeting the people. That's what I like the most about the gallery, was dealing with our customers."

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Cheryl Moniz said that while she misses the interaction, it is hard to keep the store open six or seven days a week. While her son runs the gallery and her daughter does the bookkeeping and framing, Cheryl said it is time to try a different approach.

A New Direction

Part of that new direction will be focusing on selling Arthur's work online at arthurmonizgallery.com, although she admitted a lion's share of the gallery's sales are generated from people walking in, liking, and buying his art.

Grateful for a Dream Come True

Moniz said that she and Arthur were so grateful to have their downtown location. Both Cheryl and Arthur Moniz were born in New Bedford.

"I felt so lucky to have a location right in the downtown," she said. "When Arthur and I saw the building we couldn't believe our eyes. We were so fortunate to have it offered to us. We couldn't have found a better match in all of the city to show off his work."

There's no word about what type of business might the landlords might be eyeing to replace the gallery.

The Moniz family is targeting a closing date for the end of February.