Smithsonian stands by Cosby art exhibition

[SOURCE] The Smithsonian Institution is standing behind a museum exhibition that relies in part on the art collection of Bill Cosby and his wife.

The Smithsonian's National Museum of African Art opened the exhibition of African and African-American artwork in November. On Monday, The Associated Press revealed Cosby admitted in 2005 that he obtained quaaludes with the intent of giving them to women with whom he wanted to have sex.

On Tuesday, the museum issued a statement saying it's "aware of the recent revelations about Bill Cosby's behavior." The museum says it "in no way condones this behavior."

But the museum says the exhibition is fundamentally about the artworks and the artists who created them, not about the owners of the collections.

Bill Cosby to loan art collection to Smithsonian National Museum of African Art

[SOURCE] After amassing a private collection of African-American Art over four decades, Bill Cosby and his wife Camille plan to showcase their holdings for the first time in an exhibition planned at the Smithsonian Institution.

The Smithsonian's National Museum of African Art announced Monday that the entire Cosby collection will go on view in November in a unique exhibit juxtaposing African-American art with African art.

The collection, which will be loaned to the museum, includes works by such leading African-American artists as Beauford Delaney, Faith Ringgold, Jacob Lawrence, Augusta Savage and Henry Ossawa Tanner. The Cosby collection of more than 300 African-American paintings, prints, sculptures and drawings has never been loaned or seen publicly, except for one work of art.

"It's so important to show art by African-American artists in this exhibition," Cosby said in a written statement. "To me, it's a way for people to see what exists and to give voice to many of these artists who were silenced for so long, some of whom will speak no more."