Will Cotton's painting of pop star Katy Perry, entitled "Cupcake Katy," will be the latest addition to the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery.
The oil-on-linen portrait was finished back in 2010 and starting June 18, will be added to a rotating display of portraits. Collector Jim Dicke is providing the Gallery with the work of art.
"Katy Perry comes from an American tradition of strong women entertainers who have 'turned the tables' on their audiences by challenging the supposedly superficial representation of their pop personas," Portrait Gallery director Kim Sajet said in a news release.
"Will Cotton's tongue-in-cheek portrait of Katy as a 'cupcake' brings to mind a traditional European portrait of a bewitching 18th-century belle--Madame de Pompadour perhaps?--butter melts in neither of their mouths." Sajet noted that Perry is in shown in control, rather than just as an item to be looked at.
In the Cotton portrait, Perry can be seen wearing a dress the he designed, but was actually created by designer Cynthia Rowley. The portrait was the second time the "Firework" singer and Cotton had collaborated, as he also was involved in the design of the set for the "California Gurls" music video.
Perry and fellow singer Madonna are set to team up for a risque cover for V Magazine. Two versions of the cover will be released, focusing on each of the accomplished musicians, and both feature a bondage theme.
image courtesy of INFphoto.com