Luhring Augustine was founded in 1985 by co-owners Lawrence R. Luhring and Roland J. Augustine. Its principal focus is the representation of an international group of Contemporary artists whose diverse practices include painting, drawing, sculpture, video, and photography.

Each artist in the gallery has exhibited widely in museum and gallery contexts and has been regularly included in international exhibitions such as the Venice Bienniale, The Carnegie International, and Documenta. The exhibition program is best characterized by its adherence to a rigorous curatorial model that has incorporated critical monographic exhibitions such as Marcel Duchamp (1987), Gerhard Richter (1995), Donald Judd (1999), and Martin Kippenberger (2005), which have served as historical antecedents for the Contemporary program of the gallery.

Since its founding, the gallery has also specialized in the resale of select works of art from the 20th century by artists such as Pablo Picasso, Jackson Pollock, Andy Warhol, Gerhard Richter, and Sigmar Polke. As members of the Art Dealers Association of America (ADAA) the gallery subscribes to the highest standard of connoisseurship, scholarship, and ethical practice, and offers an effective and confidential alternative for the resale of important works of art from and on behalf of private individuals and institutions.