Pumpkin
Medium: Screenprint in colors on Peche Soleil paper
[2 screens, 2 colors, 2 runs]
Year: 1983
Image: 58.7 x 48.5 cm (23.1 x 19.1 inches)
Sheet: 69 x 55.2 cm (27.2 x 21.7 inches)
Edition: 75
Artist’s Proofs: 8 AP
Printer’s Proofs: 3 PP
Printer: Okabe Tokuzo, Tokyo
Literature: ABE 25
ABE Publishing Ltd., Yayoi Kusama: Prints 1979-2017, Tokyo, 2017, Number 25, Illustrated page 25
Signed, dated, and numbered in pencil on lower edge
Pumpkin is a significant early example of Yayoi Kusama’s use of her signature motif in the print medium. This print, on Pêche Soleil paper, features a vibrant, dotted pumpkin form set against a patterned background. It belongs to Kusama’s early print production, a period when she began to regularly incorporate more representational motifs like pumpkins into her graphic works after returning to Japan in 1973 and voluntarily checking herself into a psychiatric institution in 1977. The shift to printmaking during this time allowed Kusama to disseminate her signature style to a wider audience and further explore the themes of repetition and accumulation that are central to her practice.
The print typically depicts a single, centrally located, red and white, pumpkin covered in meticulously placed polka dots with a background incorporating the artist’s “Infinity Net” pattern, creating a sense of boundless energy and optical illusion. The form of the pumpkin is organic and somewhat humorous, yet rendered with the meticulous, obsessive repetition that is a hallmark of Kusama’s style. The vibrant colors and repetitive patterns give the composition a dynamic, almost hallucinatory quality.
For Kusama, the pumpkin motif is deeply personal and has held a special significance since her childhood in rural Japan, where her family were seed sellers. Pumpkins provided a sense of calm and a “spiritual home” for the artist, especially amidst her experiences with hallucinations and anxiety. Kusama has also described the pumpkin as a form in which she sees herself reflected, mirroring her balance of vulnerability and resilience. The polka dots and net patterns used in conjunction with the pumpkin represent Kusama’s desire for self-obliteration and her connection to the infinite universe. By transforming her mental health struggles and childhood traumas into creative expression, the pumpkin symbolizes the artist’s ability to find peace and joy in living despite her difficulties.
Auction Results
SBI Art Auction: 23 May 2025
Estimated: JPY 4,000,000 – 7,000,000
JPY 7,705,000 / USD 54,045
YAYOI KUSAMA
Pumpkin (Kusama 25), 1983
Screenprint
Signed, titled, dated and numbered
AP aside from the edition of 75
Mallet Auction Tokyo: 6 March 2025
Estimated: JPY 5,000,000 – 8,000,000
JPY 7,800,000 (Hammer)
JPY 9,087,000 / USD 61,500
YAYOI KUSAMA
Pumpkin (Abe 25), 1983
Screenprint in colors on Pêche Soleil
Signed, titled and dated in pencil, inscribed A.P.
From the 8 A.P., the edition was 75
SBI Art Auction: 25 January 2025
Estimated: JPY 5,000,000 – 8,000,000
JPY 7,245,000 / USD 46,435
YAYOI KUSAMA
Pumpkin (Kusama 25), 1983
Screenprint
Signed, titled, dated and numbered
From the edition of 75
SBI Art Auction: 28 January 2024
Estimated: JPY 5,000,000 – 8,000,000
JPY 9,775,000 / USD 65,967
YAYOI KUSAMA
Pumpkin (Kusama 25), 1983
Screenprint
Signed, titled, dated and numbered from the edition of 75
Christie’s online: 13 December 2022
Estimated: HKD 400,000 – 600,000
HKD 693,000 / USD 89,135
YAYOI KUSAMA (B. 1929)
Pumpkin, 1983
Screen-print
Edition 16/75
Signed and dated ‘Yayoi Kusama 1983’ (lower right)
Titled in Japanese and numbered ‘16/75’ (lower left)
Clars Auction Gallery: 17 June 2022
Estimated: USD 30,000 – 50,000
USD 70,000 (Hammer)
USD 88,200
YAYOI KUSAMA (B. 1929)
Pumpkin, 1983
Screen-print in colors on peche soleil
Signed, titled and dated lower margin, Edition 18/75
Seoul Auction: 22 February 2022
Estimated: KRW 110,000,000 – 150,000,000
KRW 171,100,000 / USD 143,394
YAYOI KUSAMA (B. 1929)
Pumpkin, 1983
Screen-print in colors on peche soleil
Signed, titled, dated and numbered 29/75 on the recto
Seoul Auction: 24 August 2021
Estimated: KRW 100,000,000 – 150,000,000
KRW 155,250,000 / USD 133,360
YAYOI KUSAMA (B. 1929)
Pumpkin, 1983
Screen-print in colors on peche soleil
Signed, titled, dated and annotated AP on the recto
An artist’s proof, the edition was 1975