Judith Dowling & Polly Latham Asian Art Gallery to Close in April

Facing increased competition from the Internet, the Judith Dowling & Polly Latham Asian Art Gallery, at 133 Charles St., is set to close for business at the end of April.

In preparation for the closing, co-owner Dowling took a job at Skinner, Inc., a Massachusetts auctioneer and appraiser of antiques and fine art, as the Director of Asian Works of Art.

“It’s been a very difficult market,” she said. “It’s from a combination of different factors.”

According to Dowling, the selling of art on the Internet has negatively affected the success of art galleries. While she has to pay rent for her gallery, Internet art sellers don't have that overhead.

She has owned the gallery since 1989, when it first opened in Harvard Square. She later moved the gallery to Chestnut Street and then finally to Charles Street in 1995.

While on Charles Street, Dowling has experienced the highs and lows of being an art gallery owner, but says the past two decades have been full of rich experiences.

“It’s been very, very rewarding,” she said. “It’s been over 20 years of going to Japan and getting new art. Many people are sad because they’ve always enjoyed looking at the beautiful art and my window displays.”

While her new position is a contributing factor to the gallery’s closing, Dowling said she still planned to close the gallery whether or not she got the job.

“At this point in my life, it’s time to move on,” she said. “I was thinking of closing and fully retiring, but then this position came along.”

Dowling will be keeping some of the art and selling and auctioning off the rest of the pieces.

For now, Dowling, who lives directly above the gallery and only had to travel down a flight of stairs to go to work, is preparing for her new work commute.

“I now consider myself a ‘MassPike Warrior,’” she said.