William Griffin established the gallery in Los Angeles in 1997.
 
In the last decade, the gallery has experienced extraordinary growth and is today one of the largest exhibition spaces in the western United States. It has developed a reputation  for innovative, conceptually rigorous, and culturally significant programming.

The gallery has featured important solo exhibitions by James Turrell, Richard Long, Robert Rauschenberg, David Lynch, Ed Ruscha, Richard Serra, Tony Smith, Peter Wegner, Greg Colson, Liza Ryan, and others.  It has presented group exhibitions such as "Early California Minimalism," a survey of significant early works by Robert Irwin, John McCracken, and Craig Kauffman; and "Wall Installations," with works by Maya Lin, Robert Therrien, and Teresita Fernández, among others. It has also presented projects of work by Richard Tuttle, Ana Mendieta, Donald Judd, and Josef Albers, and more.  

The gallery has formed a strong network across many platforms of the visual arts, from the commercial to the scholarly. Its international outreach, established relationships, and professional reputation have allowed it to facilitate important artist projects in leading museums, foundations, universities, and galleries around the world.  It has helped realize public art projects with artists such as James Turrell, Ai Weiwei, and Richard Long. In addition, the gallery has both independently produced and directly supported the publication of numerous artist book projects, catalogs, and monographs. 

William Griffin Gallery's philosophy has always  been to work in partnership with its clients to develop meaningful and significant collections. The gallery holds a long-term perspective with a foundation built on experience, knowledge, and relationships.