Does Two Make a Trend? N.Y.U. to Name Library After Sheldon Solow

First there was the renaming of the New York Public Library’s main branch for Blackstone’s Steven Schwarzman – he gave the temple of books $100 million for the honor.

And tonight, NYU’s Institute of Fine Arts will celebrate its 75th anniversary with a black-tie dinner honoring Sheldon Solow, who last summer donated two floors of a townhouse, worth $2 million, to the Institute. The school will use the additional space to create a Sheldon H. Solow Library and Study Center.

Can we expect a Jerry Speyer library next?

Mr. Solow's love for art, like his love of the law, is no secret. A New York Sun article from last year explored his private art collection on the ground-floor of his iconic Midtown skyscraper:

If you walked along 57th Street anytime in the last few months, you might have found yourself diverted by a tantalizing, but also perplexing sight: In a glass-fronted ground-floor space at 9 W. 57th St., to the west of the building's entrance and the restaurant Brasserie 81⁄2, is a stunning display of Modern art. Paintings by Balthus, Matisse, Francis Bacon, and Franz Kline share the room with sculptures by Giacometti and Henry Moore. And that's just what's visible from the street. What treasures are hidden on the other side of the walls? Chances are you'll never know. No one is inside. The doors are locked. No dice.

The N.Y.U. library will be more a public affair. The two floors Mr. Solow donated are in a townhouse adjacent to the Institute-owned James B. Duke House (pictured), donated by Doris Duke and her mom to N.Y.U. in 1958. The Duke House, at One East 78th Street, is now used for classes, study rooms, and as storage space for art and architecture books.

Mr. Solow has a long association with the university, having donated several million to the institution, including for the endowment of two professorships. He also chaired the board of the IFA for 10 years, during which time he oversaw the restoration of the Duke House’s façade.