The Gallery of Contemporary Art at Lewis & Clark College opened in 1996 below Watzek Library after two decades of planning. From the outset, the goal of the gallery was not only to provide the Lewis & Clark community with an arts center, but to contribute to the artistic richness of Portland as a whole. The gallery put on two to four exhibitions per year, including displays of student and faculty art. Its name changed from the Gallery of Contemporary Art to include the names of Ronna and Eric Hoffman in the fall of 2002, in honor of Ronna Hoffman’s work as the Chairman of the original Gallery Symposium Committee that imagined the space, as well as her family’s generous financial support of the enterprise. Notable in the Gallery’s history is John Buck’s creation and installation of the large bronze sculptures that flank the entrance in 1999, which the College commemorated with an exhibition, banquet, and publicly accessible programming. The sculptures, meant to represent Meriweather Lewis and William Clark, were funded by Harold and Arlene Schnitzer, notable patrons of the arts in Portland.

From its creation, the gallery has also inherited and maintained the records of the art collection held by Lewis & Clark College. This collection contains records of art gifted to, purchased and commissioned by, and sold by the college, including works by notable artists.