The Lapis Press was founded in 1984 by artist Sam Francis with the goal of producing unusual and timely texts in visually compelling formats. Published editions comprised poetry, fiction, and essays on contemporary art, philosophy, literature and Jungian psychology. During this time, Lapis also published books created in collaboration with significant contemporary artists. These livres d'artiste employed a variety of media, including lithographs, etchings, and letterpress, printed on specially selected papers, and bound by hand.

After the death of Sam Francis in 1994, The Lapis Press honored his legacy of collaboration by producing a series of etching editions with contemporary artists such as Robert Therrien, Ed Moses, Christopher Wool, Niki de Saint Phalle, Rebecca Horn, Marina Abramovic, Martin Puryear, Vija Celmins, Anish Kapoor, David Reed, Guillermo Kuitca, Gabriel Orozco and Ed Ruscha.

When the Estate of Sam Francis closed in 2004, Lapis embarked on a new program designed to create synergy between the dynamic art scene outside of America and the vitality of the blossoming cultural climate in Los Angeles. Lapis established an artist in residence program where visiting artists are provided housing and studio space. In 2005, Georg Herold became the first artist in residence, followed by Elger Esser in 2006, Didier Vermeiren in 2007, and the La Brea Matrix photographers in 2009 and 2010. The Mexican artist, Doktor Lakra is scheduled to begin his residency in early 2010. Lapis is also committed to developing projects with important emerging and established artists. Recent editions include works by Alexandra Grant and Adam Rabinowitz.