What it’s actually like
Bella Fine Art Gallery, at 7137 East Main Street, is two things at once, and it says so in its full name: Bella Fine Art and Events. By day it is a contemporary gallery showing established and emerging artists, with work chosen, in its own words, to evoke emotion and tell stories. By booking, it is a venue — private receptions, business meetings, brand activations and fundraisers held among the paintings. In a district of quiet rooms where you are expected to whisper, Bella is built for people to gather.
The collection is organized the way a collector thinks rather than the way a gallery hangs. There are contemporary figurative and contemporary abstract groups, sculpture, an automotive-and-sport collection, work scaled for offices and hospitality spaces, and a Black Artists Collection that is unusual on Main Street. Featured pieces have included the dance and abstract canvases of Stuart Yankell, a portrait of Harriet Tubman by Richard Retter and work by Lori Alison.
The founder is Reginald Dunlop, who spent 35 years as an international captain for United Airlines and built a private collection of contemporary art during his travels. His first brush with the art world came at 27, when he organized an art fundraising exhibition to launch a pilot mentoring program that now runs in more than twenty cities. Before opening Bella he earned a certificate in gallery management from Sotheby’s Institute of Art. On the floor is John Fliss, formerly of Estates Fine Art, with more than thirty years in art sales, appraisal and valuation.
What to buy
A contemporary figurative canvas. The gallery’s strongest walls, from expressive dance scenes to portraiture.
A piece from the Black Artists Collection. A dedicated collection, and one of the things that sets Bella apart on Main Street.
Framing. The gallery offers museum-quality custom framing, and its online virtual framing studio lets you try options at home.
An evening. Bella’s other product is the room itself; a private tour or event is one of the more original ways to entertain in Old Town.
Parking, timing and the practical stuff
Bella is on the eastern half of the Main Street block between Marshall Way and Scottsdale Road, across from J Klein Gallery and a short walk from Waddell Gallery and The Legacy Gallery at the corner. Curb spaces on Main are short-term and scarce; the free Civic Center garage off Drinkwater Boulevard is a flat five-minute walk east. The Old Town on foot note maps the grid and the Main Street Arts District guide covers the rest of the row.
The Scottsdale Gallery Association lists hours of Monday, Wednesday and Friday through Sunday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Tuesday from noon to 5 p.m., and Thursday from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m., when the ArtWalk fills the street. Because the gallery also hosts private events, call or email before a special trip. If you want to book an event or a private tour, contact the gallery well ahead of the January-through-April high season, when Old Town’s calendar fills.
Eat while you’re there
Malee’s Thai Bistro at 7131 East Main is a few doors west and has fed the gallery row since 1987. The Sugar Bowl is a block north on Scottsdale Road, the Rusty Spur Saloon across Scottsdale Road pours in the 1921 Farmers State Bank, and Los Olivos on Second Street is the Sonoran dinner.
How it got here
Main Street became Scottsdale’s gallery row in the 1970s, and the Thursday ArtWalk that began in 1975 made it a social street as much as a commercial one — crowds on the sidewalk and galleries open late. For most of the decades since, though, the galleries themselves stayed formal: rooms for looking and buying, not for staying.
Bella Fine Art is built on the opposite instinct. Its founder, Reginald Dunlop, came to the art business from the cockpit. Over 35 years as an international captain for United Airlines, he traveled the world, built a private collection of contemporary art and got to know artists, galleries and collectors in many countries. His first lesson in what art could do came early: at 27 he organized an art fundraising exhibition to start a pilot mentoring program, which raised significant support, helped launch the careers of several of the artists and grew into a program in more than twenty cities. To prepare for running a gallery, he earned a certificate in gallery management from Sotheby’s Institute of Art.
The gallery he opened on Main Street reflects that history: contemporary work from established and emerging artists, a dedicated Black Artists Collection, a giving program called Bella Gives, and a room designed to host business, social and charitable events as readily as browsing. By the 2020s it was a member of the Scottsdale Gallery Association and listed in the Arts District’s printed gallery guide — a newer kind of Main Street gallery, half showroom and half salon.