Yayoi Kusama’s Death Marks the End of a Dot-Spattered Century

Yayoi Kusama died in a Tokyo hospital on August 14, 2026 at age 97, according to an official statement from Yayoi Kusama Inc and Yayoi Kusama Studio. NPR reported “multiple organ failure” as the medical explanation.

The Sydney Morning Herald

Born March 22, 1929 in Matsumoto, Nagano, Kusama began seeing vivid hallucinations of dots around age 10. After brief studies in Kyoto she moved to New York in 1958, where she created “Infinity Net” paintings, soft-sculpture “accumulations,” and “happenings” that mixed nudity, anti-war sentiment, and polka-dot body paint. She returned to Japan in the early 1970s, entered Seiwa Hospital in Tokyo, and continued to produce work from there.

CNN

• 2008: Christie’s auctioned a Kusama work for $5.8 million.

The Guardian

• 2014: “White No 28” sold for $7.1 million.

The Guardian

• 2022: “Untitled (Nets)” fetched $10.5 million, a record for a living female artist.

The Guardian

• 2024: Ranked the world’s top-grossing contemporary artist with $58.8 million in sales.

CNN

• 2017: “Infinity Mirror Rooms” at the Broad required one-minute reservations, drawing lines for hours.

LA Times

• 2022-2024: Retrospectives in Cologne, London and Tokyo each broke attendance records, some drawing over 235,000 visitors in three months.

CNN

Kusama’s polka-dot motif and immersive “Infinity Mirror Rooms” merged fine art with popular culture, turning museum visits into social-media events. Collaborations with luxury brands such as Louis Vuitton and documentary features reinforced her status as a cultural icon. Critics credit her work with influencing Minimalism, Pop Art and performance art, while her openness about mental illness highlighted art’s therapeutic potential.

Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama dies aged 97 after extraordinary global career

NPR’s representative confirmed multiple organ failure as the cause of death, a detail omitted from the studio release.

Yayoi Kusama, who splashed polka dots across art world, dies at 97 in Tokyo

• Cause of death: Studio statement gave no medical cause; NPR cited “multiple organ failure.” No other outlet provided a definitive diagnosis.

Avant-Garde Japanese Artist Yayoi Kusama Dies Aged 97

• Early career chronology: Some sources list Kusama’s New York arrival as 1957, others as 1958.

The Guardian

• “I will keep painting until I die.” — Yayoi Kusama

Yayoi Kusama, who splashed polka dots across art world, dies at 97 in Tokyo

• “My art originates from hallucinations only I can see,” — Yayoi Kusama

Bloomberg

• “I still see hallucinations even now,” — Yayoi Kusama

The Straits Times

• “Why should people who share pleasure with each other go to war and kill others?” — Yayoi Kusama

DW News

• “I have no connection to the art world,” — Yayoi Kusama

Bloomberg