By nineteen years of age Villeneuve had already purchased his first barber shop, the Salon Champlain on rue Sainte-Anne in Chicoutimi.
[2] These years of prosperity ended abruptly in 1944 with the death of Villeneuve's first wife, Simone Bouchard, and the loss of his properties.
But his most famous early work is the house he bought at 669 rue Taché which he nearly completely covered, inside and out, with his first paintings.
This decisive moment occurred during the homily at Sunday mass, in which the priest quoted from a letter of Pope Pius XII.
[4] Villeneuve believed that he had, until then, left his artistic ability untouched, and returned home to set about developing his gift.
Still working as a barber, he painted 100 hours per week for 23 months, until he had covered the front facade, the rear, all the interior walls and ceilings, and even the windows of his house.
[8][9] Since 1993, his house has been regarded as a national heritage asset by the Canadian government, and has held a special place in the history of 20th century Quebec art.
In 1972, the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts organized a major retrospective of his work titled Arthur Villeneuve's Quebec chronicles.