Pumpkin (Yellow Y)
Year: 1992
Medium: Screenprint in colors on Verin d’Arches paper
[2 screens, 2 colors, 2 runs]
Image: 60.4 x 72.3 cm (23.8 x 28.5 inches)
Sheet: 77 x 80.4 cm (27.8 x 33.1 inches)
Edition: 120
Artist’s Proofs: 12 AP
Printer’s Proofs: 4 PP
Printer: Okabe Tokuzo, Tokyo
Literature: ABE 148
Yayoi Kusama Prints 1979-2017, ABE Publishing Ltd., Number 148, illustrated page 97
Signed, dated, and numbered in pencil on lower edge
Pumpkin (Yellow Y) marks a subtle but decisive shift in Yayoi Kusama’s treatment of the motif: less graphic confrontation, more internalized density. By the early 1990s, the pumpkin had fully stabilized as one of her most enduring visual anchors, and this work reflects a moment of consolidation rather than experimentation. The pumpkin is rendered with exceptional restraint. Its ribs are elongated and evenly weighted, and the polka dots, meticulously graded in size, generate volume through optical accumulation rather than contrast. Unlike earlier prints where dots oscillate aggressively between scales, here they are disciplined, almost meditative. The form feels heavy, grounded, and self-contained, as if it has settled into itself. The background is significant in its relative quiet. The black field is animated by fine, looping yellow lines, an echo of Kusama’s infinity nets, but they remain secondary, receding rather than competing. This creates a sensation of depth without agitation. The pumpkin does not battle its surroundings; it emerges from them. The overall effect is one of absorption rather than tension. Color is handled with notable sophistication. The yellow is warmer, slightly muted, less assertive than the acid yellows of the early 1980s. Against the black ground, it reads not as a signal but as a presence. Kusama’s yellow here is no longer protective in opposition to darkness; it coexists with it. The stem, slender and subdued, avoids dramatic emphasis, reinforcing the work’s inward tone.
Technically, the print demonstrates Kusama’s full command of graphic repetition. Every dot feels placed rather than produced. The surface retains a tactile quality despite its precision, a reminder that her repetition is psychological before it is mechanical. This is not pattern as decoration, but pattern as containment. Conceptually, this work suggests a calmer phase in Kusama’s relationship with the pumpkin. If earlier versions asserted stability against chaos, this one assumes stability as a given. The pumpkin is no longer a defense mechanism; it is a state of being. It sits quietly, confidently, without needing borders, zigzags, or chromatic warnings.
For Kusama, the pumpkin is more than just a vegetable; it is a deeply personal symbol. She views pumpkins as a form of self-portraiture, often citing their “generous unpretentiousness” and “solid spiritual balance”. The motif stems from her family’s background as seed nursery owners, representing stability, warmth, and a connection to her roots in Matsumoto. Kusama uses the repetitive application of polka dots as a means of “self-obliteration,” helping her manage the hallucinations and trauma she has experienced since childhood.
The early 1990s marked a pivotal period in Kusama’s global re-evaluation. Following a successful 1989 retrospective in New York and her selection to represent Japan at the 1993 Venice Biennale, Kusama’s market value and international fame surged. This 1992 print predates her most famous 1994 yellow pumpkin sculpture on Naoshima Island, which later became a global icon for the artist.
Pumpkin (Yellow Y) sold for its highest price at Mainichi Auction in Tokyo on 23 April 2022, when it sold for JPY 19,805,000 (USD 154,125).
Mainichi Auction: 23 April 2022
Estimated: JPY 5,000,000 – 8,000,000
JPY 17,000,000 (Hammer)
JPY 19,805,000 / USD 154,125
AUCTION RECORD FOR PUMPKIN (YELLOW Y)
YAYOI KUSAMA
Pumpkin (Yellow Y), 1992
Screenprint
Signed, dated and numbered
From the edition of 120
Auction Results
Mallet Japan: 5 March 2026
Estimated: JPY 5,000,000 – 8,000,000
JPY 8,200,000 (Hammer)
JPY 9,555,000 / USD 61,215
YAYOI KUSAMA
Pumpkin (Yellow Y) (abe 148), 1992
Screenprint in colors on Arches
Signed, titled, dated and numbered in pencil
From the edition of 120 (there were also 12 A.P.)
Printed by Tokuzo Okabe
Mainichi Auction: 7 February 2026
Estimated: JPY 7,000,000 – 10,000,000
Lot #0183
JPY 10,350,000 / USD 65,840
YAYOI KUSAMA
Pumpkin (Yellow Y), 1992
ABE publishing (2017) No.148
Screenprint
Signed in the lower right margin
Titled and dated in the lower center margin
Ed. 120 in the lower left margin
SBI Art Auction: 24 January 2026
Estimated: JPY 5,000,000 – 8,000,000
JPY 9,545,000 / USD 61,615
YAYOI KUSAMA
Pumpkin (Yellow Y) (Kusama 148), 1992
Screenprint
Signed, titled, dated and numbered
From the edition of 120
Printed by Okabe Tokuzo
SBI Art Auction: 12 September 2025
Estimated: JPY 5,000,000 – 8,000,000
JPY 11,155,000 / USD 75,770
YAYOI KUSAMA
Pumpkin (Yellow Y) (Kusama 148), 1992
Screenprint
Signed, titled, dated and numbered
From the edition of 120
Seoul Auction: 27 May 2025
Estimated: KRW 120,000,000 – 180,000,000
KRW 120,000,000 (Hammer)
KRW 141,600,000 / USD 103,370
YAYOI KUSAMA
Pumpkin (Yellow Y) (Abe 148), 1992
Sreenprint
Ed. 70/120
Signed, titled, dated and numbered on the recto
Mainichi Auction Tokyo: 8 February 2025
Estimated: JPY 7,000,000 – 10,000,000
JPY 9,200,000 / USD 60,765
YAYOI KUSAMA
Pumpkin (Yellow Y) (ABE 148), 1992
Screenprint
Signed, dated and numbered
From the edition of 120
Est-Ouest Auctions Hong-Kong: 28 May 2023
Estimated: USD 90,000 – 100,000
USD 107,100
YAYOI KUSAMA
PUMPKIN (YELLOW Y), 1992
Screenprint
Signed, titled, dated and numbered on the margin
SBI Art Auction: 15 July 2022
Estimated: JPY 4,000,000 – 7,000,000
JPY 15,525,000 / USD 111,710
YAYOI KUSAMA
Pumpkin (Yellow Y) (Kusama 148), 1992
Screenprint
Signed, titled, dated and numbered from the edition of 120
SBI Art Auction: 27 May 2022
Estimated: JPY 4,000,000 – 7,000,000
JPY 13,800,000 / USD 108,560
YAYOI KUSAMA
Pumpkin (Yellow Y) (Kusama 148), 1992
Screenprint
Signed, titled, dated and numbered from the edition of 120
Mainichi Auction: 23 April 2022
Estimated: JPY 5,000,000 – 8,000,000
JPY 17,000,000 (Hammer)
JPY 19,805,000 / USD 154,125
AUCTION RECORD FOR PUMPKIN (YELLOW Y)
YAYOI KUSAMA
Pumpkin (Yellow Y), 1992
Screenprint
Signed, dated and numbered
From the edition of 120
Webb’s New Zealand: 23 November 2020
Estimated: NZD 75,000 – 95,000
NZD 82,250 / USD 56,835
YAYOI KUSAMA
Pumpkin (Yellow Y), 1992
Screenprint on paper
Edition: 83/120
Signed Yayoi Kusama, dated 1992 and inscribed 83/120 in graphite lower edge
Mallet Japan: 19 November 2020
Estimated: JPY 3,000,000 – 4,000,000
JPY 4,500,000 (Hammer)
JPY 5,242,500 / USD 50,575
YAYOI KUSAMA
Pumpkin (Yellow Y), 1992
Screenprint in colors on Arches
Signed
Edition: 119/120
Sotheby’s Hong-Kong: 16 April 2020
Estimated: HKD 150,000 -250,000
HKD 475,000 / USD 61,280
YAYOI KUSAMA (b.1929)
PUMPKIN (YELLOW Y), 1992
Screen-print
Signed in English, titled in Japanese, dated 1992 and numbered 13/120