Thanks to the generosity of a US forklift truck dynasty, pop star Katy Perry will soon take pride of place in the dignified National Portrait Gallery in Washington.
Cupcake Katy, an oil-on-linen portrait by New York artist Will Cotton, will go up on June 18 as part of a rotating display of recent acquisitions, the museum said Wednesday.
The painting, completed in 2010, is being gifted to the National Portrait Gallery -- part of the Smithsonian network -- by the James Dicke family, whose wealth and large art collection derive from a global forklift truck business based in the state of Ohio.
In a statement, National Portrait Gallery director Kim Sajet said the tongue-in-cheek work "brings to mind a traditional European portrait of a bewitching 18th century bell -- Madame de Pompadour, perhaps?" Sajet added, "Sweet but no mere piece of candy, the woman is accessorized but not labeled -- she's the one in control."
Perry, 29, is among the biggest names in pop music today, with a raft of Top 10 hits including California Gurls, Teenage Dream and Firework, and a reputation for wildly colorful shows.
She's scheduled to bring her ongoing Prismatic concert tour to Washington's Verizon Center arena -- across the street from the National Portrait Gallery, as it happens -- on June 24 and 25.