Who Was Yayoi Kusama? The Artist Behind Polka Dots, Nude Protests and a Letter to Nixon

Yayoi Kusama became one of Japan’s most internationally recognised avant-garde artists, known for her distinctive use of polka dots and repetition. (Credit: Wikimedia Commons/CC BY 3.0/George Quasha)

Yayoi Kusama, the Japanese avant-garde artist whose polka dots, pumpkins and Infinity Mirror Rooms made her one of the most recognisable artists of the modern era, has died aged 97.

Kusama died in a Tokyo hospital on 14 August 2026, according to the Yayoi Kusama Museum, which said she continued painting until her final days. No official cause of death was given.