US News

SOCIALITE DIES AFTER ‘MINOR’ OP

The New York phil anthropic set was in shock yesterday with news that socialite Diane Wolf – a large donor to cultural institutions around the country – died following a rou tine medical proce dure.

Wolf, 53, died early Thursday at New York Hospital following “an unexpected medical reaction to a minor procedure,” said her art-dealer brother, Daniel Wolf.

“We’ve been contacted by everybody [in charitable circles]. They are all in shock,” he said.

While her family would not disclose what the procedure was, they said they did not be lieve the hospital was at fault.

“This was not a major operation. This was just a blood reaction. It created a lot of blood clots throughout her body, and she couldn’t cope,” said her 81-year-old father, oil tycoon Erving Wolf. “We are just in absolute shock. Diane was alive and well last week.”

The Fifth Avenue society woman gave generously to several museums, such as the Metropolitan Museum of Art, The Whitney and The Frick.

In 1985, President Reagan appointed her to the US Commission of Fine Arts.

Born in Cheyenne, Wyo., in 1954, Wolf was raised in Denver. She got her bachelor’s degree from the University of Pennsylvania, a master’s degree from Columbia and a law degree from Georgetown.

With her passion for arts and politics, she split time between New York and Washington, but always considered the Big Apple her home.

“She loved New York, and she loved The New York Post,” her father said.

A private service planned for Sunday at Frank E. Campbell’s on Madison Avenue. The family asks that, in lieu of flowers, donations be made to a fund established in Wolf’s name at New York Hospital.