Founded in 1939 by Otto Kallir (1894-1978), the Galerie St. Etienne was for over 80 years the leading American gallery specializing in Austrian and German Expressionism. The gallery mounted the first American one-person shows of such artists as Erich Heckel (1955), Gustav Klimt (1959), Oskar Kokoschka (1940), Alfred Kubin (1941), Paula Modersohn-Becker (1958) and Egon Schiele (1941). St. Etienne was also instrumental in arranging the first American museum acquisitions of works by these artists, through sales and donations. Firmly committed to scholarship, the gallery's directors authored catalogues raisonnés on Richard Gerstl, Grandma Moses and Egon Schiele. Following Otto Kallir's death in 1978, his granddaughter Jane Kallir, and his longtime business partner, Hildegard Bachert (1921-2019), became the gallery's co-directors. Bachert was a world-renowned expert on Käthe Kollwitz, while Jane Kallir has written over 20 books and is the leading authority on Schiele.

The Galerie St. Etienne developed a commitment to the work of self-taught American and European artists after "discovering" Grandma Moses, who had her first one-person show there in 1940. The gallery represented Moses for the remainder of her life and then became the exclusive representative of her estate. The. gallery also worked with the estates of Ilija Bosilj (Basicevic), Henry Darger, Morris Hirshfield and John Kane, as well as the artists of Gugging, Austria. While the primary focus was on self-taught artists of the early 20th century, Jane Kallir has also written extensively about contemporary "Outsider" art and Art Brut.

In 2017, Hildegard Bachert and Jane Kallir established the Kallir Research Institute (KRI) to continue the scholarly tradition established by Otto Kallir. In 2021, the Galerie St. Etienne closed it exhibition space and transferred its library, archives and educational activities to the KRI.