 He opened his contemporary art gallery at 420 West Broadway in SoHo in lower Manhattan in 1979, mounting the first public exhibition there in April 1980.The Charles Cowles Gallery was finally located on 537 West 24th Street, between 10th and 11th Avenues in Chelsea in New York City.In June 2009, after thirty years as an art dealer, Cowles closed his contemporary art gallery and retired.