When a bequest is made, there are certain legal ramifications the person making the bequest. Whatever is stated in a will about a bequest must be followed through. In the case of James Smithson and the Smithsonian Institution, the United States Congress lucked out when they received James Smithson’s fortune in the form of a bequest. Originally, the fortune was given to his nephew and heir, Henry James Hungerford because Smithson never married and did not produce any offspring. Hungerford was the illegitimate son of Smithson’s half-brother Lieutenant Colonel Dickinson. There was a catch to the bequest to Hungerford. According to Paul Niemann, author of the article “British scientist left his mark in Washington D.C.” discloses that if Hungerford…show more content… Sexually allegations against Bill Cosby suffered just after the Cosby’s loan part of their collection of African and African American artwork to the museum. The public and the media were in a constant uproar about the donation by the Cosby’s to the Museum of African Art, and they demanded that the museum not display their collection. The artwork loaned by Camille and Bill Cosby to the Museum of African Art was vital to the Conversations: Africa and African American Dialogue exhibition did not violate the Smithsonian’s Code of Ethics because the donation and loan coincide with the codes of ethics, they supported the mission of the Museum of African Art and the mission of the Smithsonian Institute, and the exhibit should not be scrutinized based on accusations of the donor. First, there will be an explanation of the history of the National Museum of African Art; then background of the Conversations: African and American Artworks in Dialogue; and finally an analysis of the controversial scandal that involves museum ethical…show more content… The mission of the museum is to inspire conversations about the beauty, power, and diversity of African arts and cultures worldwide. The exhibit celebrates the unique history and contributions toward furthering meaningful dialogue between Africa and the African diaspora. The purpose of the exhibition is to examine the interplay of artistic creativity in African and African American art. Some of the artwork in the exhibit had never been seen before, and made its first appearance in this exhibit. Eight themes that the exhibit was centered around included Conversations Considered; Spiritualties; A Human Presences; Power Politics; Memory, Family, and the Domestic Sphere; Nature as a Metaphor; and Music and Urban Culture. Out of the 162 objects in the collection, 62 of those objects were on loan from the private African Art collection of William H. Cosby and Camille Cosby that consisted of 300 works of African Art. This was a monumental moment for this private art collection because it had never been seen before, and the Cosby’s had refused offers from other museums in the past to exhibit their collection. According to art historian and museum consultant, Dr. John Welch, explains that the Cosby’s refused to loan Horace Pippin paintings to Bill Cosby’s hometown
