The Gillett G. Griffin Papers reflect Griffin's personal life and relationships as well as his professional work and his donation of objects to the Princeton University Art Museum. The papers span Griffin's lifetime, and the bulk is composed of correspondence. The papers document some of Griffin's childhood artwork and schoolwork, early correspondence with family, friends, and mentors, coursework at the Yale School of Fine Arts, and Griffin's mid-century book designs. The collection contains generous material from the period when Griffin was Curator of Graphic Arts in Firestone Library, from 1952 to 1966. The papers also reflect the 38 years Griffin spent as Curator of Pre-Columbian and Primitive Art (so called in 1967) at the Princeton University Art Museum (1967-2005). Further, the papers document his travels--particularly early trips to Mexico and organized tours from the late 1960s through the 1990s--and reflect Griffin's teaching activities at Princeton between the 1970s and 2000s. Artwork represented in the papers is primarily composed of later, small-format sketches (ink on paper), including those Griffin labeled "erotic."

Personal and professional material is commingled in the collection, particularly in the correspondence series.

Further description of each series appears under each series heading.