Established in 1975 with a major gift by Abby Weed Grey of some 1,000 works of modern Iranian, Indian and Turkish art, the Grey then became steward of the N.Y.U. art collection, begun in 1958 ...

But Tanner was responsible for the name — and the choice of artists. “I named it TF Gallery, which actually stands for ‘That F---ing Gallery,’” he says with a laugh.