S. Gregg Gallery to close

S. Gregg Gallery will close its doors at the end of this year, after 35 years as a fixture on Cape Girardeau's Main Street. The S. Gregg Gallery began in 1975 as the BOEN Gallery, a fine arts gallery established by two local doctors, Bill Ogborn and Ed Noffel. During a major recession in 1980, the gallery owners sold the BOEN Gallery to Steven Gregg. In 1983, Gregg changed the name of the business to the S. Gregg Gallery in order to reflect the change of ownership.

In the years following, Gregg expanded the gallery's mission to include affordable original works by artists with regional, national or international reputations. Further additions to the gallery's offerings included original antique maps and prints such as Audubon birds, Thomas and Samuel Curtis botanicals, McKenney-Hall Native American portraits, etc. Custom picture frame mouldings grew to include designs not only of U.S. origins but those from Italy, France and Spain. In the mid-1990's, the gallery's physical size was expanded from about 1,200 to almost 4,000 square feet.

Local realtor Jo Duff joined the gallery as a partner in 2009 with the desire to see the gallery, which is the fourth oldest business in Downtown Cape Girardeau continue to serve the community. Recently, due to several factors, Duff and Gregg have decided to close the business at the end of 2011. Although several individuals have expressed interest in purchasing the gallery over the last two years, no serious buyer has been found to date, Gregg said. The S. Gregg Gallery is now offering 40-50 percent off its inventory.