One of the most recognizable icons in contemporary art today, Kusama’s pumpkin is deeply central to the artist’s psyche, and its origins within her art can be traced back to her most early years.  Kusama recalls having consumed the vegetable endlessly to the point of nausea in her childhood years during and after the war; in spite of this, she retains a fond attachment to its organic bulbous form, describing it as embodying a “generous unpretentiousness” and “solid spiritual balance.”

“I adore pumpkins. As my spiritual home since childhood, and with their infinite spirituality, they contribute to the peace of mankind across the world and to the celebration of humanity. And by doing so they make me feel at peace. Pumpkins bring about poetic peace in my mind. Pumpkins talk to me.”

Kusama’s obsession with pumpkins dates back to her childhood. The artist has since been captivated by the bulbous form after her visits to plant nurseries with her grandfather. Already experiencing hallucinations at the time, involving pumpkins that spoke to her in a most animated manner, Kusama found the gourd a benign and nurturing subject – as opposed to the more traumatic and menacing feelings she associates with flowers, plants and objects that plagued her throughout her life.

 

 

PART I: SUMMARY

 

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Introduction

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Pumpkins are a generator of passion. They do not present nets meant to capture; they conversely encourage us to feel the deepest emotions without allowing them to be lost to the demands of everyday life. A striking example of Kusama’s sought-after paintings of the 1990s, just as her career was reach the height Western critical acclaim. Each motif, such as the Pumpkin and the accompanying Infinity Nets, have their own inimitable presence that speaks both to their skilled making and the emotions they elicit. Pumpkins are also paintings that show light in relief, in three dimensions.

They give us an illuminated path forward into a heretofore unknown and joyful space. Yayoi Kusama’s pumpkins have become an iconic symbol within her body of work, representing both her personal history and her artistic exploration of repetition and pattern. The origins of these pumpkins trace back to her childhood in rural Japan, where she lived on a farm. As a young girl, Kusama was deeply influenced by the natural surroundings, particularly the pumpkins she encountered regularly. These pumpkins, with their organic shapes and textured surfaces, became imprinted in her mind, even appearing in the vivid hallucinations she experienced from a young age.

 

Kusama has spoken about how these hallucinations, where she would see fields of pumpkins extending infinitely, informed her later work. The repetition of forms, the play of patterns, and the vibrant colors seen in her art can all be traced back to these early experiences. Her approach to creating pumpkin-themed works spans a variety of media, each reflecting her signature style. Kusama has produced countless paintings, sculptures, and prints of pumpkins over the decades. Her paintings often feature pumpkins with her iconic polka dot patterns or infinity nets—a technique that involves a repetitive, intricate web of lines that create a mesmerizing visual effect. The sculptures, meanwhile, bring these two-dimensional patterns into the physical world, often with striking, oversized pumpkins that seem to pulse with energy. As for prints, Kusama has created an extensive collection, numbering in the hundreds, that explore various interpretations of the pumpkin motif.

The infinity nets and polka dots featured on her pumpkins are not just decorative elements; they are central to her artistic expression. The infinity nets, in particular, represent Kusama’s fascination with endlessness and the concept of infinity—a theme that resonates throughout her entire oeuvre. These nets weave their way across the surfaces of her pumpkins, creating a sense of depth and movement that invites viewers to lose themselves in the patterns. The polka dots, another of her trademark motifs, symbolize the obliteration of the self and the merging of individual identity into the universe, reflecting her philosophical musings on existence.

In summary, Yayoi Kusama’s pumpkins are more than just a recurring subject in her work—they are a manifestation of her life’s journey, her battles with mental illness, and her relentless pursuit of artistic innovation. From the farm fields of her childhood to the global art stage, these pumpkins have traveled a long way, carrying with them Kusama’s memories, her philosophies, and her unique vision of the world.

When it comes to colors, Kusama’s pumpkin works are as varied as they are striking. The most sought-after pieces are often those featuring yellow pumpkins with black polka dots, a combination that has become synonymous with her name. This color scheme is particularly powerful, with the contrast between the bright yellow and deep black creating a sense of intensity and dynamism. However, Kusama has also experimented with other color combinations, including violet, grey, black, green, and red. Each color choice carries its own significance, with some combinations evoking a sense of calm and others a more dramatic or whimsical feel. The variations in color also offer collectors and admirers of her work a broad spectrum of emotional and aesthetic experiences. Each color in Kusama’s pumpkin works is carefully chosen to evoke specific emotions, ideas, and responses from the viewer. Together, they form a complex narrative that intertwines Kusama’s personal experiences with universal themes of existence, the infinite, and the interplay between light and darkness. These colors are not just aesthetic choices but are deeply connected to the symbolism that permeates her entire body of work.

Yellow with Black Polka Dots

This color combination is perhaps the most iconic in Kusama’s pumpkin series. The bright yellow background, contrasted with the black polka dots, creates a visual intensity that captures attention immediately. Yellow, often associated with warmth, happiness, and energy, could be seen as a reflection of Kusama’s inner light amidst the darkness of her struggles with mental illness.

The black polka dots, meanwhile, introduce a sense of contrast, representing the voids or the infinite, something Kusama frequently explores in her work. Together, they evoke a balance between light and darkness, joy and despair, which is a recurring theme in her art.

Violet

The use of violet in Kusama’s pumpkins can be seen as a more contemplative and introspective choice. Violet is often associated with spirituality, mystery, and the subconscious. In the context of Kusama’s work, this color might represent her exploration of the deeper, unseen aspects of existence. It’s a color that invites viewers to consider the unknown, perhaps reflecting Kusama’s own introspections and her quest to understand the infinite.

Red

Red in Kusama’s pumpkins is a bold, powerful choice. Red is traditionally associated with strong emotions—passion, anger, love, and intensity. In Kusama’s work, red could symbolize the raw, unfiltered emotions that she often channels into her art.

It might also represent the vitality and life force that drives her creative process, as well as the intense energy she puts into each piece.

Green

While not as common as yellow or red, green also plays a role in some of Kusama’s pumpkin works. Green is typically associated with nature, growth, and renewal. Given Kusama’s childhood on a farm, green might be a nod to her roots and the organic inspiration behind her pumpkins.

It could also symbolize a connection to the earth and the cycles of life, themes that resonate with the repetitive and cyclical nature of her patterns.

Black

Pure black pumpkins, or those with black as a dominant color, bring a sense of depth and mystery. Black is often associated with the unknown, with infinity, and with the concept of voids—something Kusama frequently explores.

In the context of her pumpkins, black might symbolize the endlessness of the universe, the obliteration of the self, or the absorption of all other colors, much like how the night sky absorbs light.

 

Yayoi Kusama’s exploration of the pumpkin motif spans a remarkable range of media, each bringing out different facets of her artistic vision and deepening the symbolic resonance of the pumpkin within her oeuvre.

Original Paintings

Kusama’s pumpkin paintings are perhaps the most direct expression of her fascination with this motif. These works often feature her signature polka dots and infinity nets, meticulously painted to create a sense of rhythm and endless repetition. The paintings vary in size, from smaller, more intimate canvases to large-scale works that envelop the viewer in their intricate patterns. Through these paintings, Kusama explores the texture and form of the pumpkin, turning a simple, familiar object into something otherworldly

Sculptures

Kusama’s pumpkin sculptures are some of her most recognizable works. They vary in size and material, with some made from bronze, epoxy, or a combination of materials. These sculptures can be found in public spaces and art institutions worldwide. In terms of numbers, she has produced dozens of these sculptures, with some of the most famous being installed in locations like the Naoshima Art Island in Japan and the Louis Vuitton Foundation in Paris.

Prints

Kusama has been very prolific in the creation of pumpkin prints, with the number of different designs reaching well over one hundred. These prints are produced using techniques like screen printing and lithography, and they allow Kusama to experiment with color and form on a more accessible scale. Collectors highly seek her prints, and they often feature varying color palettes, from the iconic yellow and black to more experimental combinations.

Installations

Kusama’s installations, particularly her Infinity Mirror Rooms, offer an immersive experience that often includes her pumpkin sculptures. These rooms are designed with mirrored walls that create the illusion of infinite space, filled with Kusama’s polka-dotted pumpkins. These installations have been shown in museums worldwide and are among her most popular works, drawing large crowds and extensive media attention.

 

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 Auction Market Overview

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Pumpkins are most probably Yayoi Kusama’s most celebrated and sought-after works. As such, they command high prices at auction, and there are very few lots passed.

Auction Summary

2025 Auction Highlights

16 lots sold at auction in 2025 for a turnover of USD 19,896,240. With one lot failing to sell, the sell-through rate is 94.1%. The highest price has been achieved by PUMPKIN (HRU), a large PUMPKIN painting dated 2014, that sold at Christie’s in Hong-Kong, on 28 March 2025, for HKD 39,095,000 (USD 5,025,064).

2025 Top 3 Lots

 

4 lots sold for more than USD 1 million, generating a cumulative turnover of USD 13,549,134, representing 68% of the total turnover in 2025.

2024 Auction Highlights

28 Pumpkin paintings sold at auction in 2024 for a turnover of USD 26,886,394. With 2 lots failing to sell, the sell-through rate is 93%. The highest price paid for a Pumpkin painting in 2024 was achieved at Seoul Auction on 10 September 2024, when Pumpkin dated 1990 (53 x 45.5 cm) sold for KRW 4,422,000,000 (USD 2,549,390). 10 lots sold for more than USD 1 million, generating a cumulative turnover of USD 17,705,474, representing 66% of the total turnover for 2024.

The strong decrease in turnover from 2023 to 2024 is explained by the absence of large Pumpkin paintings sold at auction in 2024, in fact 4 Pumpkin paintings sold in 2023 for more than USD 5 million, generating a cumulative turnover of USD 25,272,373.

2023 Auction Highlights

30 lots sold at auction in 2023 for a turnover of USD 52,842,992. With only 1 lot unsold, the sell-through rate is a solid 97%. Pumpkin, a painting dated 1995, measuring 112.3 x 145.8 cm, sold at Phillips in Hong-Kong on 30 March 2023 for HKD 56,110,000 (USD 7,147,862), the highest price paid at auction for a Pumpkin painting in 2023.

2023 Top 6 Lots

The average price is USD 7,147,862. Among the 10 most expensive lots sold in 2023, there are no less than 6 Pumpkin Paintings and 2 Pumpkin Sculptures.

2022 Auction Highlights

33 Pumpkin paintings sold in 2022 for a total turnover of USD 37,103,595. With only two paintings unsold, the sell-through rate is a solid 94%. 2021 was a record year with 23 Pumpkins selling at auction generating close to USD 43 million. Even though the market appears to have contracted in 2022, with a higher number of lots sold for a lower total revenues, the median price, adjusted by size, keeps on increasing to reach unprecedented levels.

Top 6 Lots sold in 2022

2021 Auction Highlights

23 Pumpkin Paintings sold at auction in 2021 for a record turnover of USD 42,924,724. With no lot failing to sell, the Sell-Through Rate is 100%. A new world record was set at Christie’s in Hong-Kong on 1 December 2021, when Pumpkin (LPASG), a large Pumpkin Painting dated 2013, sold for HKD 62,540,000 (USD 8,026,800).

Pumpkin (LPASG), 2013

Christie’s Hong-Kong: 1 December 2021
Estimated: HKD 45,000,000 – 65,000,000
HKD 62,540,000 / USD 8,026,800
AUCTION RECORD FOR A PUMPKIN PAINTING

YAYOI KUSAMA (B. 1929) (christies.com)

YAYOI KUSAMA
Pumpkin (LPASG), 2013
Acrylic on canvas
130.3 x 130.3 cm (51.2 x 51.2 inches)

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Top Lots

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#1. Pumpkin (LPASG), 2013

Christie’s Hong-Kong: 30 November 2021
Estimated: HKD 45,000,000 – 65,000,000
HKD 62,540,000 / USD 8,026,800

YAYOI KUSAMA (B. 1929) (christies.com)

YAYOI KUSAMA
Pumpkin (LPASG), 2013
Acrylic on canvas
130.3 x 130.3 cm (51.2 x 51.2 inches)

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USD 8 million

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#2. Pumpkin, 1995

Phillips Hong-Kong: 30 March 2023
Estimated: HKD 40,000,000 – 50,000,000
HKD 56,110,000 / USD 7,147,862

Yayoi Kusama – 20th Century & Contempo… Lot 10 March 2023 | Phillips

#3. A-Pumpkin (BAGN8), 2011

Sotheby’s Hong-Kong: 5 April 2023
Estimated: HKD 40,000,000 – 55,000,000
HKD 55,169,500 / USD 7,028,051

Yayoi Kusama 草間彌生 | A-Pumpkin (BAGN8) | 50th Anniversary Contemporary Evening Auction | 2023 | Sotheby’s (sothebys.com)

YAYOI KUSAMA (b. 1929)
A-Pumpkin (BAGN8), 2011
Acrylic on canvas
162×130 cm (63 3/4 x 51 1/8 inches)
Signed, titled and dated 2011 on the reverse

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USD 7 million

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#4. Pumpkin (TWPOT), 2010

Sotheby’s Hong-Kong: 1 April 2019
Estimated: HKD 12,000,000 – 22,000,000
HKD 54,460,000 / USD 6,937,820

(#1138) KUSAMA YAYOI | Pumpkin (TWPOT) (sothebys.com)

YAYOI KUSAMA
Pumpkin (TWPOT), 2010
Acrylic on canvas
130 x 162.5 cm (51 1/8 x 64 inches)
Signed in English, titled and dated 2010 on the reverse

#5. A-PUMPKIN SKLO, 2013

Christie’s Hong-Kong: 23 May 2021
Estimated: HKD 40,000,000 – 60,000,000
HKD 50,650,000 / USD 6,522,775

YAYOI KUSAMA (B. 1929), A-PUMPKIN SKLO | Christie’s (christies.com)

YAYOI KUSAMA
A-PUMPKIN SKLO, 2013
Acrylic on canvas
130.3 x 162 cm (51.2 x 63.7 inches)

#6. Pumpkin, 1990

Ravenel Taipei: 2 June 2019
Estimated: TWD 46,000,000 – 55,000,000
TWD 198,560,000 / USD 6,283,544

Ravenel | Yayoi KUSAMA《Pumpkin》 Ravenel Spring Auction 2019 Taipei Lot 117

YAYOI KUSAMA (Japanese, 1929)
Pumpkin, 1990
Acrylic on canvas
162 x 130.3 cm
Signed on the reverse Yayoi Kusama in English, titled Pumpkin in Japanese and dated 1990

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USD 6 million

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#7. PUMPKIN [FBAN], 2013

Christie’s Hong-Kong: 28 November 2023
Estimated: HKD 38,000,000 – 55,000,000
HKD 46,355,000 / USD 5,951,233

YAYOI KUSAMA (B. 1929), PUMPKIN [FBAN] | Christie’s (christies.com)

YAYOI KUSAMA (B. 1929)
PUMPKIN [FBAN], 2013
Acrylic on canvas
130.3 x 161.5 cm (51 1/4 x 63 1/2 inches)
Signed, titled and dated ‘FBAN PUMPKIN YAYOI KUSAMA 2013’ (on the reverse)

#8. A-Pumpkin (OTRSSA), 2014

Seoul Auction: 29 November 2022
Estimated: KRW 8,000,000,000 – 18,000,000,000
KRW 7,575,600,000 / USD 5,804,970

YAYOI KUSAMA
A-Pumpkin (OTRSSA), 2014
Acrylic on canvas
112 x 145.5 cm (44.1 x 57.3 inches)

#9. Pumpkin, 1981

Seoul Auction: 23 November 2021
Estimate on Request
KRW 6,267,500,000 / USD 5,263,746

YAYOI KUSAMA
Pumpkin, 1981
Acrylic on canvas
116.5 x 91 cm (45.9 x 35.8 inches)
Signed, titled and dated on the canvas stretcher bar

#10. Pumpkin, 2000

Christie’s Hong-Kong: 28 May 2023
Estimated: HKD 28,000,000 – 38,000,000
HKD 40,305,000 / USD 5,145,407

YAYOI KUSAMA (B. 1929), Pumpkin | Christie’s (christies.com)

YAYOI KUSAMA (B. 1929)
Pumpkin, 2000
Acrylic on canvas
73 x 90.8 cm (28 3/4 x 35 3/4 in)
Titled in Japanese, signed and dated ‘YAYOI KUSAMA 2000’ (on the reverse)

#11. PUMPKIN (HRU), 2014

Christie’s Hong-Kong: 28 March 2025
Estimated: HKD 25,000,000 – 35,000,000
HKD 39,095,000 / USD 5,025,064

YAYOI KUSAMA (B. 1929), PUMPKIN (HRU) | Christie’s

YAYOI KUSAMA (B. 1929)
PUMPKIN (HRU), 2014
Acrylic on canvas
100×100 cm (39 3/8 x 39 3/8 inches)
Signed, titled, titled again in Japanese, and dated ‘HRU PUMPKIN YAYOI KUSAMA 2014’ (on the reverse)

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USD 5 million

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#12. A-PUMPKIN-SPW, 2014

#13. Pumpkin, 1993

Christie’s New-York: 15 May 2023
Estimated: USD 4,000,000 – 6,000,000
USD 4,890,000

YAYOI KUSAMA (B. 1929), Pumpkin | Christie’s

YAYOI KUSAMA (B. 1929)
Pumpkin, 1993
Acrylic on canvas
73 x 90.8 cm (28 3/4 x 35 3/4 inches)
Signed, titled in Japanese and dated ‘Yayoi Kusama 1993’ (on the reverse)

#14. PUMPKIN [TWAQN], 2015

Christie’s Hong-Kong: 26 September 2025
Estimated: HKD 22,000,000 – 32,000,000
HKD 34,660,000 / USD 4,455,015

YAYOI KUSAMA (B. 1929), PUMPKIN [TWAQN] | Christie’s

YAYOI KUSAMA (B. 1929)
PUMPKIN [TWAQN], 2015
Acrylic on canvas
112 x 145.5 cm (44 1/8 x 57 1/4 inches)
Signed, titled, and dated ‘TWAQN PUMPKIN YAYOI KUSAMA 2015’ (on the reverse)

#15. Pumpkin (PLOE), 2013

Sotheby’s Hong-Kong: 30 September 2018
Estimated: HKD 10,000,000 – 20,000,000
HKD 33,720,000 / USD 4,307,375

(#1055) KUSAMA YAYOI | Pumpkin (PLOE)

YAYOI KUSAMA
Pumpkin (PLOE), 2013
Acrylic on canvas
130.3 x 162 cm (51 3/8 x 63 3/4 inches)
Signed and titled in English and dated 2013 on the reverse

 

 

PART II: AUCTION RESULTS

 

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2026 Auction Results

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Pumpkin, 1993

Christie’s Hong-Kong: 27 March 2026
Estimated: HKD 32,000,000 – 40,000,000
HKD 39,540,000 / USD 5,049,810

YAYOI KUSAMA (B. 1929), Pumpkin | Christie’s

YAYOI KUSAMA (B. 1929)
Pumpkin, 1993
Acrylic on canvas
91 x 116.8 cm (35-7/8 x 46 inches)
Signed, titled in Japanese and dated ‘Yayoi Kusama 1993’ (on the reverse)

Pumpkin, 2000

Bonhams Hong-Kong: 29 March 2026
Estimated: HKD 15,000,000 – 25,000,000
HKD 22,234,000 / USD 2,839,690

Bonhams : YAYOI KUSAMA (B. 1929) Pumpkin

YAYOI KUSAMA (B. 1929)
Pumpkin, 2000
Acrylic on canvas
60×72 cm (23-5/8 x 28-3/8 inches)
Signed and dated 2000 on the reverse

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USD 1 million

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Pumpkin (8), 1997

Sotheby’s Hong-Kong: 30 March 2026
Estimated: HKD 5,200,000 – 7,000,000
HKD 7,040,000 / USD 899,105

Yayoi Kusama 草間彌生 | Pumpkin (8) 南瓜（8） | Contemporary Day Auction |

YAYOI KUSAMA (b. 1929)
Pumpkin (8), 1997
Acrylic on canvas
24.2 x 33.3 cm (9-1/2 x 13-1/8 inches)
Signed, titled in Japanese and dated 1997 (on the reverse)

Pumpkin (AAT), 1999

Seoul Auction: 27 January 2026
Estimated: KRW 730,000,000 – 900,000,000
KRW 720,000,000 (Hammer)
KRW 849,600,000 / USD 588,770
PUMPKIN PAINTING

Seoul Auction

YAYOI KUSAMA
Pumpkin (AAT), 1999
Acrylic on canvas
15.9 x 22.3 cm
Signed, titled and dated on the reverse

Pumpkin, 1991

AN EYE FOR COLOUR: WORKS FROM A PRIVATE COLLECTION
Christie’s London: 7 March 2026
Estimated: GBP 250,000 – 350,000
GBP 381,000 / USD 508,980

YAYOI KUSAMA (B. 1929), Pumpkin | Christie’s

YAYOI KUSAMA (B. 1929)
Pumpkin, 1991
Acrylic on canvas
22.6 x 16 cm (8-7/8 x 6-1/4 inches)
Signed, titled in Japanese and dated ‘YAYOI KUSAMA 1991’ (on the reverse)

Pumpkin, 1991

K Auction Seoul: 27 February 2026
Estimated: KRW 730,000,000 – 900,000,000
KRW 720,000,000 / USD 504,545

KA-Search:Kusama

YAYOI KUSAMA
Pumpkin, 1991
Acrylic on canvas
15.8  x 22.7 cm
Signed, titled and dated on the reverse

Pumpkin, 1990

Christie’s Hong-Kong: 28 March 2026
Estimated: HKD 1,500,000 – 2,500,000
HKD 3,937,000 / USD 502,810

YAYOI KUSAMA (B. 1929), Pumpkin | Christie’s

YAYOI KUSAMA (B. 1929)
Pumpkin, 1990
Acrylic on canvas
15.8 x 22.7 cm (6-1/4 x 22-2/3 inches)
Signed and dated ‘Yayoi Kusama 1990’
Titled in Japanese (on the reverse)

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USD 500,000

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Pumpkin | かぼちゃ, 1991

Mainichi Auction: 7 February 2026
Estimated: JPY 40,000,000 – 60,000,000
JPY 74,750,000 / USD 475,510

Mainichi Auction Co., Ltd.

KUSAMA Yayoi | 草間 彌生
Pumpkin | かぼちゃ, 1991
Acrylic on canvas
15.8 x 22.7 cm
Signed, titled and dated on verso

Pumpkin, 1991

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Lots Withdrawn

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Pumpkin, 1998

Sotheby’s Hong-Kong: 29 March 2026
Estimated: HKD 22,000,000 – 40,000,000
WITHDRAWN

Yayoi Kusama 草間彌生 | Pumpkin 捲蒂南瓜 | Modern & Contemporary Evening

YAYOI KUSAMA (b. 1929)
Pumpkin, 1998
Acrylic on canvas
53 x 45.5 cm (20-7/8 x 18 inches)
Signed, titled, and dated 1998 (on the reverse)

 

Pumpkin, 1998

Sotheby’s Hong-Kong: 29 March 2026
Estimated: HKD 22,000,000 – 40,000,000
WITHDRAWN

Yayoi Kusama 草間彌生 | Pumpkin 捲蒂南瓜 | Modern & Contemporary Evening

YAYOI KUSAMA (b. 1929)
Pumpkin, 1998
Acrylic on canvas
53 x 45.5 cm (20-7/8 x 18 inches)
Signed, titled, and dated 1998 (on the reverse)

 

Executed in 1998, Pumpkin is a spellbinding, flawlessly executed archetype from Yayoi Kusama’s oeuvre – a testament to her astonishing dedication to creation, technique, and a singular artistic vision. Plump and full, the pumpkin of the present work is an exceptionally rare example of her most favored motif with a coiling vine. It is the only canvas to have ever appeared at auction to date with this distinct characteristic; straight or gently tilted vines are most often seen. In Japan, Kabocha are severed from their vines before attaining full maturity and left to ripen off the vine. This physical untethering of the fruit from the earth informs the sense of overpowering, endless expansion conveyed by Pumpkin’s vine.

Executed in 1998, Pumpkin was made during a pivotal year of the artist’s career. In Kusama’s career, 1998-1999 could be considered one of the peaks of her institutional and commercial exposure; half of the 46 shows held over the two years were solo exhibitions. While Kusama checked herself into a psychiatric hospital the year before, she remained extremely active in artistic output. The same year she painted the present work, Love Forever: Yayoi Kusama, 1958-1968 opened and travelled from LACMA to MoMA in New York, the Walker Art Centre in Minneapolis, and the Museum of Contemporary Art in Tokyo. It was regarded at the time as the most significant retrospective since Alexandra Munroe curated Yayoi Kusama: A Retrospective at the Centre for International Contemporary Arts in New York in 1989.

“Just as Bodhidharma spent ten years facing a stone wall, I spent as much as a month facing a single pumpkin. I regretted even having to take time to sleep.”

YAYOI KUSAMA, MIRROR ROOM (PUMPKIN), 1991, (Details) COLLECTION OF HARA MUSEUM CONTEMPORARY ART, JAPAN
© YAYOI KUSAMA

One of the most recognizable icons in contemporary art, Kusama’s pumpkin is deeply central to the artist’s psyche, and its origins in her art can be traced back to her earliest years. In 1948, three years after the war ended, a 19-year-old Kusama enrolled in a fourth-year course at Kyoto City Senior High School of Art. “During my time in Kyoto I diligently painted pumpkins”, wrote the artist, “which in later years would become an important theme in my art” (Kusama Yayoi, Infinity Net: The Autobiography of Yayoi Kusama, trans. Ralph McCarthy, Tate Publishing, 2011, p. 75). Kusama recalls having consumed the vegetable endlessly to the point of nausea in her childhood years during and after the war; in spite of this, she retains a fond attachment to its organic bulbous form, describing it as embodying a “generous unpretentiousness” and “solid spiritual balance” (Ibid., p. 76). Already experiencing hallucinations at the time, involving pumpkins that spoke to her in a most animated manner, Kusama found the gourd a benign and nurturing subject – as opposed to the more traumatic and menacing feelings she associates with flowers, plants and objects that plagued her throughout her life.

Kusama’s early pumpkins were painted with traditional Nihonga materials, which she left behind after her move from Matsumoto to New York in 1958. Within only eighteen months of her arrival, Kusama stunned the New York art scene with her radical Infinity Nets in 1959, executed in the Western medium of oil, which were followed by her Accumulation soft sculptures in 1961. In 1965 Kusama infused explosions of color into her sculptures through the use of dotted and striped fabrics; by this time, the sheer breadth, scale and ambition of her diverse cross-media oeuvre had taken over the city like an epidemic. Her ubiquitous polka-dot and net motifs, manifested in mesmeric paintings, immersive rooms, hypnotic installations, body art and participatory performances, forged a wholly unique aesthetic that articulated a rigorous, overwhelming language of obsession and obliteration – a language that enabled the artist to combat her hallucinatory mental illness.

“I use my complexes and fears as subjects. I make them and make them and then keep on making them, until I bury myself in the process. I call this ‘obliteration’” 

After an explosive rise to fame in New York in the 1960s, Kusama returned to Japan in 1973, withdrawing into a period of semi-obscurity whilst quietly amassing a prolific body of work. It was during this time that Kusama revisited her earlier pumpkin motif, combining her signature all-over Nets and obliterating polka-dot aesthetic with the theme of her favorite gourd. During the 1980s, Kusama explored colorful variations of her pumpkin-pattern in two-dimensional paintings, drawings and prints; over the years, her rendering of pumpkin ‘skin’ grew ever more deft and accomplished, with the flowing lines of dots advancing and receding rhythmically in a fastidiously precise yet dynamically organic manner. Even the seemingly blank or ‘undotted’ segments are overlaid with miniscule specks, contributing to a complex, intensely laborious configuration that pulsates and disorients with an energy akin to that of Op art paintings.

Pumpkin (1990) was painted by Kusama and sold through Gallery Te, Tokyo, which was one of the very first galleries to sell Kusama’s artworks in the 1980s, along with Fuji Television Gallery. Painted in 1990, it coincided with a very public resurgence for the artist: her first New York retrospective in 1989 at the Centre for International Contemporary Arts, which signified a major revival of American and European interest in Kusama’s work, and became the first Japanese artist to grace the cover of Art in America that very same year. Paralleling this revival was a reevaluation of her work in Japan: just a year after Pumpkin (1990) was created, Kusama’s landmark exhibition Mirror Room (Pumpkin) was shown at the Fuji Television Gallery and the Hara Museum in Tokyo, which went on to be exhibited at the 45th Venice Biennale in 1993. Kusama was the first Japanese woman artist in the history of the Biennale to be granted a solo exhibition at the prestigious event. The pumpkin stands as a symbol of triumph for the artist’s personal and artistic rebirth, representing a mediation of her psychiatric illness that went hand in hand with the ever-increasing sophistication, dexterity, and creativity of her creations.

 

 

 

 

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2025 Auction Results

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2024 Auction Results

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28 Pumpkin paintings sold at auction in 2024 for a turnover of USD 26,886,394. With 2 lots failing to sell, the sell-through rate is 93%. The highest price paid for a Pumpkin painting in 2024 was achieved at Seoul Auction on 10 September 2024, when Pumpkin dated 1990 (53 x 45.5 cm) sold for KRW 4,422,000,000 (USD 2,549,390). 10 lots sold for more than USD 1 million, generating a cumulative turnover of USD 17,705,474, representing 66% of the total turnover for 2024.

#1. Pumpkin, 1990

Seoul Auction: 10 September 2024
Estimates on Request
KRW 3,422,000,000 / USD 2,549,390

Seoul Auction

#2. Red Pumpkin, 1989

Poly Auction Hong-Kong: 7 April 2024
Estimated: HKD 7,500,000 – 8,500,000
JPY 18,000,000 / USD 2,301,202

Red Pumpkin｜Poly Auction Hong Kong

YAYOI KUSAMA
Red Pumpkin, 1989
Acrylic on canvas
38 x 45.5 cm (15×18 inches)
Titled in Japanese; signed and dated ‘yayoi Kusama 1989’ (on the reverse)

#3. PUMPKIN [TOWHT] BLUE, 2005

Christie’s Shanghai: 7 November 2024
Estimated: CNY 10,000,000 – 15,000,000
CNY 15,425,000 / USD 2,166,764

YAYOI KUSAMA (B. 1929), PUMPKIN [TOWHT] BLUE | Christie’s

YAYOI KUSAMA (B. 1929)
PUMPKIN [TOWHT] BLUE, 2005
Acrylic on canvas
45.5 x 53 cm (17 7/8 x 20 7/8 inches)
Signed, titled and dated ‘yayoi kusama 2005 PUMPKIN TOWHT BLUE’ (on the reverse)

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USD 2 million

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#4. Pumpkin, 2006

Christie’s Hong-Kong: 27 September 2024
Estimated: HKD 15,000,000 – 20,000,000
HKD 14,290,000 / USD 1,836,879

YAYOI KUSAMA (B. 1929), Pumpkin | Christie’s (christies.com)

YAYOI KUSAMA (B. 1929)
Pumpkin, 2006
Acrylic on canvas
38 x 45.5 cm (15 x 17 7/8 inches)
Signed, titled in Japanese, and dated ‘Yayoi Kusama 2006’ (on the reverse)

#5. Pumpkin, 2000

Phillips Hong-Kong: 31 May 2024
Estimated: HKD 13,000,000 – 20,000,000
HKD 13,760,000 / USD 1,761,618

Yayoi Kusama – Modern & Contemporary Art… Lot 11 May 2024 | Phillips

Yayoi Kusama
Pumpkin, 2000
Acrylic on canvas
37.7 x 45.5 cm (14 7/8 x 17 7/8 inches)
Signed, titled and dated ‘Yayoi Kusama 2000 Pumpkin [in Kanji] on the reverse

#6. Pumpkins, 2006

SBI Art Auction: 9 March 2024
Estimated: JPY 130,000,000 – 180,000,000
JPY 241,500,000 / USD 1,629,665

RESULTS｜SBI Art Auction

YAYOI KUSAMA
Pumpkins, 2006
Acrylic on canvas
45.5 × 53.0 cm (17 7/8 × 20 7/8 inches) (F10)
Signed, titled and dated on the reverse

#7. Pumpkin, 1989

SBI Art Auction: 26 October 2024
Estimated: JPY 150,000,000 – 250,000,000
JPY 247,250,000 / USD 1,627,930

RESULTS｜SBI Art Auction

YAYOI KUSAMA
Pumpkin, 1989
Acrylic on canvas
45.5 × 38 cm (17 7/8 x 15 inches)
Signed, titled and dated on the reverse

#8. Pumpkin, 1991

Poly Hong-Kong: 27 November 2024
Estimated: HKD 12,000,000 – 20,000,000
HKD 12,000,000 / USD 1,541,720

Pumpkin｜Poly Auction Hong Kong

YAYOI KUSAMA (B. 1929)
Pumpkin, 1991
Acrylic on canvas
38.2 x 45.6 cm (15×18 inches)
Signed and dated ‘YAYOI KUSAMA 1991’
Titled in Japanese (on the reverse)

#9. Pumpkin, 1987

Christie’s Hong-Kong: 29 May 2024
Estimated: HKD 8,000,000 – 15,000,000
HKD 10,055,000 / USD 1,287,287

YAYOI KUSAMA (B. 1929), Pumpkin | Christie’s (christies.com)
GUARANTEED

YAYOI KUSAMA (B. 1929)
Pumpkin, 1987
Acrylic on canvas
38.1 x 44.9 cm (15 x 17 7/8 inches)
Signed, titled in Japanese, and dated ‘1987 Yayoi Kusama’ (on the reverse)

#10. Pumpkin, 1997

SBI Art Auction Tokyo: 9 March 2024
Estimated: JPY 80,000,000 – 140,000,000
JPY 149,500,000 / USD 1,008,840

RESULTS｜SBI Art Auction

YAYOI KUSAMA
Pumpkin, 1997
Acrylic on canvas
22 × 27.3 cm (8 5/8 × 10 3/4 inches) (F3)
Signed, titled and dated on the reverse

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USD 1 million

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#11. Pumpkin (AAP), 2001

Sotheby’s Hong-Kong: 6 April 2024
Estimated: HKD 2,800,000 – 4,200,000
HKD 5,842,000 / USD 746,868

Yayoi Kusama 草間彌生 | Pumpkin (AAP) 南瓜（AAP） | Contemporary Day Auction | 2024 | Sotheby’s (sothebys.com)

YAYOI KUSAMA (b. 1929)
Pumpkin (AAP), 2001
Acrylic on canvas
22.7 x 16 cm (9 x 6 1/4 inches)
Signed, titled in Japanese, and dated 2001 on the reverse

#12. Pumpkin, 2000

SBI Art Auction: 26 October 2024
Estimated: JPY 80,000,000 – 140,000,000
JPY 109,250,000 / USD 719,318

RESULTS｜SBI Art Auction

YAYOI KUSAMA
Pumpkin, 2000
Acrylic on canvas
24.2 × 33.3 cm (9 1/2 x 13 1/8 inches)
Signed, titled and dated on the reverse

#13. Pumpkin, 1982

Phillips Hong-Kong: 1 June 2024
Estimated: HKD 3,200,000 – 4,200,000
HKD 4,699,000 / USD 601,588

Yayoi Kusama – Modern & Contemporary A… Lot 137 June 2024 | Phillips

#15. Pumpkin, 1995

SBI Art Auction: 25 May 2024
Estimated: JPY 50,000,000 – 80,000,000
JPY 83,950,000 / USD 534,884

LOT DETAILS｜SBI Art Auction

YAYOI KUSAMA
Pumpkin, 1995
Acrylic on canvas
15.8 × 22.7 cm (6 1/4 x 8 7/8 inches)
Signed, titled and dated on the reverse

#16. Pumpkin (AAY), 2001

Seoul Auction: 27 February 2024
Estimated: KRW 650,000,000 – 900,000,000
KRW 708,000,000 / USD 531,707

YAYOI KUSAMA
Pumpkin (AAY), 2001
Acrylic on canvas
22.7 x 16 cm (9 x 6.3 inches)
Signed, dated and titled on reverse

#17. Pumpkin, 1993

SBI Art Auction: 6 July 2024
Estimated: JPY 50,000,000 – 80,000,000
JPY 83,950,000 / USD 522,240

RESULTS｜SBI Art Auction

YAYOI KUSAMA
Pumpkin, 1993
Acrylic on canvas
15.9 x 22.8 cm (6 1/4 x 9 inches)
Signed, titled and dated on the reverse

#18. Pumpkin, 1998

Christie’s online: 12 November 2024
Estimated: HKD 2,200,000 – 4,000,000
HKD 4,032,000 / USD 518,530

YAYOI KUSAMA (B. 1929), Pumpkin | Christie’s

YAYOI KUSAMA (B. 1929)
Pumpkin, 1998
Acrylic on canvas
16 x 22.7 cm (6 1/4 x 8 7/8 inches)
Signed, titled, and dated ‘YAYOI KUSAMA 1998 PUMPKIN’ (on the reverse)

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USD 500,000

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#19. Pumpkin, 1990

Sotheby’s Singapore: 9 June 2024
Estimated: SGD 410,000 – 660,000
SGD 660,000 / USD 488,600

Yayoi Kusama 草間彌生 | Pumpkin 南瓜 | Modern & Contemporary Art | 2024 | Sotheby’s (sothebys.com)

#20. Pumpkin, 1991

Seoul Auction: 28 May 2024
Estimate on Request
KRW 660,800,000 / USD 485,030

YAYOI KUSAMA
Pumpkin, 1991
Acrylic on canvas
15.7 x 22.5 cm (6 1/8 x 8 7/8 inches)
Signed, titled and dated on the reverse

#21. Pumpkin, 1995

Bonhams New-York: 20 November 2024
Estimated: USD 350,000 – 550,000
USD 470,400

Bonhams : YAYOI KUSAMA (B. 1929) Pumpkin 6 3/8 x 9 in (16 x 22.9 cm) (Painted in 1995)

#22. Pumpkin, 1989

Phillips Hong-Kong: 26 November 2024
Estimated: HKD 2,500,000 – 3,500,000
HKD 3,556,000 / USD 456,905

Yayoi Kusama – Modern & Contempora… Lot 126 November 2024 | Phillips

#23. Pumpkin, 2001

Phillips Hong-Kong: 1 June 2024
Estimated: HKD 3,000,000 – 4,000,000
HKD 3,556,000 / USD 455,255

Yayoi Kusama – Modern & Contemporary A… Lot 138 June 2024 | Phillips

#24. Pumpkin (HZ), 2002

SBI Art Auction: 6 July 2024
Estimated: JPY 40,000,000 – 70,000,000
JPY 71,875,000 / USD 447,123

RESULTS｜SBI Art Auction

YAYOI KUSAMA
Pumpkin (HZ), 2002
Acrylic on canvas
14×18 cm (5 1/2 x 7 1/8 inches)
Signed, titled and dated on the reverse

#25. Pumpkin, 1991

Mallet Auction Tokyo: 18 July 2024
Estimated: JPY 40,000,000 – 60,000,000
JPY 69,900,000 / USD 434,675

YAYOI KUSAMA
Pumpkin, 1991
Acrylic on canvas
14×18 cm (5 1/2 x 7 1/8 inches)
Signed, titled and dated on the reverse

#26. Pumpkin, 1981

SBI Art Auction: 27 January 2024
Estimated: JPY 50,000,000 – 80,000,000
JPY 63,250,000 / USD 426,810

YAYOI KUSAMA
Pumpkin, 1981
Acrylic on canvas
22.7 x 15.8 cm (9 x 6.2 inches)
Signed, dated and titled on reverse

#27. Pumpkin, 1990

Est-Ouest Auctions: 31 August 2024
Estimated: JPY 35,000,000 – 55,000,000
JPY 60,950,000 / USD 416,900

YAYOI KUSAMA
Pumpkin, 1990
Acrylic on canvas
18×14 cm (7.1 x 5.5 inches)
Signed, titled and dated on the back

#28. A Pumpkin (TWX), 2003

Sotheby’s London: 26 June 2024
Estimated: GBP 200,000 – 300,000
GBP 300,000 / USD 380,400

https://www.sothebys.com/en/buy/auction/2024/contemporary-art-day-auction-including-the-ralph-i-goldenberg-collection/a-pumpkin-twx?locale=en

YAYOI KUSAMA (b. 1929)
A Pumpkin (TWX), 2003
Acrylic on canvas
15.4 x 22.5 cm (7 1/2 x 9 inches)
Signed, titled and dated 2003 (on the reverse)

 

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2023 Auction Results

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30 lots sold at auction in 2023 for a turnover of USD 52,842,992. With only 1 lot unsold, the sell-through rate is a solid 97%. Pumpkin, a painting dated 1995, measuring 112.3 x 145.8 cm, sold at Phillips in Hong-Kong on 30 March 2023 for HKD 56,110,000 (USD 7,147,862), the highest price paid at auction for a Pumpkin painting in 2023.

2023 Top 6 Lots

The average price is USD 7,147,862. Among the 10 most expensive lots sold in 2023, there are no less than 6 PP and 2 Pumpkin sculptures.

#1. Pumpkin, 1995

Phillips Hong-Kong: 30 March 2023
Estimated: HKD 40,000,000 – 50,000,000
HKD 56,110,000 / USD 7,147,862

Yayoi Kusama – 20th Century & Contempo… Lot 10 March 2023 | Phillips

#2. A-Pumpkin (BAGN8), 2011

Sotheby’s Hong-Kong: 5 April 2023
Estimated: HKD 40,000,000 – 55,000,000
HKD 55,169,500 / USD 7,028,051

Yayoi Kusama 草間彌生 | A-Pumpkin (BAGN8) | 50th Anniversary Contemporary Evening Auction | 2023 | Sotheby’s (sothebys.com)

YAYOI KUSAMA (b. 1929)
A-Pumpkin (BAGN8), 2011
Acrylic on canvas
162×130 cm (63 3/4 x 51 1/8 inches)
Signed, titled and dated 2011 on the reverse

#3. PUMPKIN [FBAN], 2013

Christie’s Hong-Kong: 28 November 2023
Estimated: HKD 38,000,000 – 55,000,000
HKD 46,355,000 / USD 5,951,233

YAYOI KUSAMA (B. 1929), PUMPKIN [FBAN] | Christie’s (christies.com)

YAYOI KUSAMA (B. 1929)
PUMPKIN [FBAN], 2013
Acrylic on canvas
130.3 x 161.5 cm (51 1/4 x 63 1/2 inches)
Signed, titled and dated ‘FBAN PUMPKIN YAYOI KUSAMA 2013’ (on the reverse)

#4. Pumpkin, 2000

Christie’s Hong-Kong: 28 May 2023
Estimated: HKD 28,000,000 – 38,000,000
HKD 40,305,000 / USD 5,145,407

YAYOI KUSAMA (B. 1929)
Pumpkin, 2000
Acrylic on canvas
73 x 90.8 cm (28 3/4 x 35 3/4 in)
Titled in Japanese, signed and dated ‘YAYOI KUSAMA 2000’ (on the reverse)

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USD 5,000,000

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#5. Pumpkin, 1993

Christie’s New-York: 15 May 2023
Estimated: USD 4,000,000 – 6,000,000
USD 4,890,000

YAYOI KUSAMA (B. 1929), Pumpkin | Christie’s

YAYOI KUSAMA (B. 1929)
Pumpkin, 1993
Acrylic on canvas
73 x 90.8 cm (28 3/4 x 35 3/4 inches)
Signed, titled in Japanese and dated ‘Yayoi Kusama 1993’ (on the reverse)

#6. Pumpkin, 2005

Poly Auction Hong-Kong: 5 April 2023
Estimated: HKD 25,000,000 – 35,000,000
HKD 30,000,000 / USD 3,821,730

 

YAYOI KUSAMA
Pumpkin, 2005
Acrylic on canvas
91.5 x 73.2 cm (36 xx 28.8 inches)
Signed, dated and titled on the reverse

#11. Pumpkin (B.H.T.), 1991

SBI Art Auction: 10 March 2023
Estimated: JPY 70,000,000 – 130,000,000
JPY 172,500,000 / USD 1,277,880

YAYOI KUSAMA
Pumpkin (B.H.T.), 1991
Acrylic on canvas
41 x 31.8 cm (16.1 x 12.5 inches)

#12. Pumpkin, 1989

Christie’s Shanghai: 23 September 2023
Estimated: CNY 5,000,000 – 8,000,000
CNY 7,560,000 / USD 1,038,390

YAYOI KUSAMA (b. 1929)
Pumpkin, 1989
Acrylic and felt pen on canvas
53 x 45.5 cm (20 3/4 x 18 inches)
Signed, titled in Japanese and dated ‘YAYOI KUSAMA Yayoi Kusama 1989’ (on the reverse)

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USD 1,000,000

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#13. Pumpkin, 1997

Sotheby’s Hong-Kong: 6 April 2023
Estimated: HKD 2,200,000 – 3,200,000
HKD 6,985,000 / USD 889,820

YAYOI KUSAMA (b. 1929)
Pumpkin, 1997
Acrylic on canvas
22 x 27.3 cm (8 5/8 x 10 3/4 inches)
Signed, titled and dated 1997 on the reverse

#14. Pumpkin, 1993

Christie’s London: 29 June 2023
Estimated: GBP 250,000 – 350,000
GBP 504,000 / USD 637,156

YAYOI KUSAMA (B. 1929), Pumpkin | Christie’s (christies.com)

YAYOI KUSAMA (B. 1929)
Pumpkin, 1993
Acrylic on canvas
16 x 22.8 cm (6 1/4 x 9 inches)
Signed, titled in Japanese and dated ‘YAYOI KUSAMA 1993’ (on the reverse)

#15. PUMPKIN, 1998

Est-Ouest Auctions Hong-Kong: 28 May 2023
Estimated: USD 550,000 – 700,000
USD 604,800

YAYOI KUSAMA
PUMPKIN, 1998
Acrylic on canvas
22.7 x 16.1 cm (9 x 6 3/8 inches)
Signed, titled and dated on the reverse

#16. Pumpkin, 1991

Phillips Hong-Kong: 31 March 2023
Estimated: HKD 3,500,000 – 5,500,000
HKD 4,445,000 / USD 566,249

YAYOI KUSAMA
Pumpkin, 1991
Acrylic on canvas
15.8 x 22.7 cm (6 1/4 x 8 7/8 inches)
Signed, titled and dated ‘YAYOI KUSAMA 1991 “Pumpkin” [in Kanji]’ on the reverse

#17. Pumpkin, 1981

Christie’s Hong-Kong: 24 September 2023
Estimated: HKD 2,000,000 – 4,000,000
HKD 4,410,000 / USD 563,917

YAYOI KUSAMA (B. 1929)
Pumpkin, 1981
Acrylic on canvas
15.8 x 22.5 cm (6 1/4 x 8 7/8 inches)
Titled in Japanese, signed and dated ‘Yayoi Kusama 1981’ (on the reverse)

#18. Pumpkin, 1991

K Auction: 23 August 2023
Estimated: KRW 650,000,000 – 900,000,000
KRW 747,500,000 / USD 557,635

YAYOI KUSAMA (b. 1929)
Pumpkin, 1991
Acrylic on canvas
15.8 x 22.7 cm (6 1/8 x 8 7/8 inches)
Signed, titled and dated (on the reverse)

#19. Pumpkin, 1995

Christie’s Hong-Kong: 24 September 2023
Estimated: HKD 800,000 – 1,500,000
HKD 4,284,000 / USD 547,805

YAYOI KUSAMA (B. 1929)
Pumpkin, 1995
Acrylic on canvas
15.8 x 22.7 cm (6 1/4 x 8 7/8 inches)
Titled in Japanese, signed and dated ‘Yayoi Kusama 1995’ (on the reverse)

#20. Pumpkin, 1990

SHINWA AUCTION: 27 May 2023
Estimated: JPY 40,000,000 – 60,000,000
JPY 75,900,000 / USD 539,774

YAYOI KUSAMA (B. 1929)
Pumpkin, 1990
Acrylic on canvas
15.8 x 22.7 cm (6.2 x 8.9 inches)
Signed, titled and dated on verso

#21. Pumpkin, 1993

SBI Art Auction: 27 October 2023
Estimated: JPY 50,000,000 – 80,000,000
JPY 80,500,000 / USD 535,325

YAYOI KUSAMA
Pumpkin, 1993
Acrylic on canvas
15.8 × 22.7 cm (6 1/4 x 8 7/8 inches)
Signed, titled and dated on the reverse

#22. Pumpkin, 1981

Christie’s online: 21 April 2023
Estimated: HKD 3,300,000 – 5,500,000
HKD 4,158,000 / USD 529,836 

YAYOI KUSAMA (B. 1929)
Pumpkin, 1981
Acrylic on canvas
16×22 cm (6 1/4 x 8 5/8 inches)
Signed twice, titled in Japanese and dated ‘1981 Yayoi Kusama’ (on the reverse)

#23. PUMPKIN (W.E.T), 2001

Est-Ouest Auctions Hong-Kong: 28 May 2023
Estimated: USD 520,000 – 650,000
USD 529,200

YAYOI KUSAMA
PUMPKIN (W.E.T), 2001
Acrylic on canvas
15.8 x 22.5 cm (6 3/8 x 8 7/8 inches)
Signed, titled and dated on the reverse

#24. Pumpkin, 1994

Sotheby’s Singapore: 2 July 2023
Estimated: SGD 300,000 – 500,000
SGD 698,500 / USD 516,527

Yayoi Kusama 草間彌生 | Pumpkin 南瓜 | Modern & Contemporary Art | 2023 | Sotheby’s (sothebys.com)

 

YAYOI KUSAMA (b. 1929)
Pumpkin, 1994
Acrylic on canvas
15.8 x 22.7 cm (6 1/4 x 9 inches)
Signed Yayoi Kusama, titled in Japanese and dated 1994 (on the verso)

#25. Pumpkin, 1981

SBI Art Auction: 27 January 2023
Estimated: JPY 35,000,000 – 55,000,000
JPY 64,400,000 / USD 495,903

RESULTS｜SBI Art Auction

YAYOI KUSAMA
Pumpkin, 1981
Acrylic on canvas
15.8 × 22.7 cm (6 1/4 x 8 7/8 inches)
Signed, titled and dated on the reverse

#26. PUMPKIN, 1990

Est-Ouest Auctions Hong-Kong: 28 May 2023
Estimated: USD 520,000 – 600,000
USD 478,800

YAYOI KUSAMA
PUMPKIN, 1990
Acrylic on canvas
18×14 cm (7 x 5 1/2 inches)
Signed, titled and dated on the reverse

#27. Pumpkin, 1992

Sotheby’s Hong-Kong: 6 October 2023
Estimated: HKD 2,000,000 – 3,000,000
HKD 3,556,000 / USD 454,057

YAYOI KUSAMA (b. 1929)
Pumpkin, 1992
Acrylic on canvas
16 x 22.5 cm (6 1/4 x 8 7/8 inches)
Signed, titled in Japanese, and dated 1992 on the reverse

#28. Pumpkin (E.E.E.), 2001

SBI Art Auction: 15 July 2023
Estimated: JPY 50,000,000 – 80,000,000
JPY 60,950,000 / USD 439,147

YAYOI KUSAMA (b. 1929)
Pumpkin (E.E.E.), 2001
Acrylic on canvas
22.7 x 15.8 cm (8 7/8 x 6 1/8 inches)
Signed, titled and dated (on the reverse)

#29. Pumpkin, 1992

Christie’s London: 14 October 2023
Estimated: GBP 200,000 – 300,000
GBP 327,600 / USD 397,235

YAYOI KUSAMA (B. 1929)
Pumpkin, 1992
Acrylic on canvas
15.8 x 22.7cm (6 1/4 x 9 inches)
Signed, titled in Japanese and dated ‘YAYOI KUSAMA 1992’ (on the reverse)

 

 

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2022 Auction Results

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33 Pumpkin paintings sold in 2022 for a total turnover of USD 37,103,595. With only two paintings unsold, the sell-through rate is a solid 94%. 2021 was a record year with 23 Pumpkins selling at auction generating close to USD 43 million. Even though the market appears to have contracted in 2022, with a higher number of lots sold for a lower total revenues, the median price, adjusted by size, keeps on increasing to reach unprecedented levels.

Top 6 Lots sold in 2022

 

 

#1. A-Pumpkin (OTRSSA), 2014

Seoul Auction: 29 November 2022
Estimated: KRW 8,000,000,000 – 18,000,000,000
KRW 7,575,600,000 / USD 5,804,970

YAYOI KUSAMA
A-Pumpkin (OTRSSA), 2014
Acrylic on canvas
112 x 145.5 cm (44.1 x 57.3 inches)

#2. Pumpkin, 1990

Sotheby’s Hong-Kong: 27 April 2022
Estimated: HKD 8,000,000 – 15,000,000
HKD 30,625,000 / USD 3,902,864

YAYOI KUSAMA
Pumpkin, 1990 
Acrylic on canvas
72.5 x 60.5 cm (28.5 x 23.9 inches)

#3. Pumpkin, 1995

Christie’s Hong-Kong: 26 May 2022
Estimated: HKD 12,000,000 – 22,000,000
HKD 20,850,000 / USD 2,656,220

YAYOI KUSAMA
Pumpkin, 1995
Acrylic on canvas
31.8 x 41 cm (12.5 x 16.1 inches)
Signed and dated ‘Yayoi Kusama 1995’, titled in Japanese (on the reverse)

#4. I Carry on Living with the Pumpkins, 2013

Christie’s Hong-Kong: 30 November 2022
Estimated: HKD 13,800,000 – 18,800,000
HKD 17,010,000 / USD 2,179,372

REPEAT SALE

Sotheby’s Hong-Kong: 19 April 2021
Estimated: HKD 5,500,000 – 7,500,000
HKD 15,905,000 / USD 2,047,977

YAYOI KUSAMA (B. 1929)
I Carry on Living with the Pumpkins, 2013
Aluminum, FRP and urethane paint
180 (H) x 180 x 30 cm (70 7/8 x 70 7/8 x 11 3/4 inches)
Signed and dated ‘Yayoi Kusama 2013’ (lower center)

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USD 2,000,000

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#5. Pumpkin, 2004

Seoul Auction: 23 August 2022
Estimated: KRW 1,900,000,000 – 3,000,000,000
KRW 2,596,000,000 / USD 1,972,248

YAYOI KUSAMA
Pumpkin, 2004
Acrylic on canvas
53 x 45.5 cm (20.9 x 17.9 inches)

#6. Pumpkin, 2000

Sotheby’s Hong-Kong: 6 October 2022
Estimated: HKD 16,000,000 – 22,000,000
HKD 15,379,000 / USD 1,959,208

YAYOI KUSAMA
Pumpkin, 2000
Acrylic on canvas laid on panela
37.9 x 45.2 cm (14.9 x 17.7 inches)

#10. Pumpkin, 2004

Seoul Auction: 27 September 2022
Estimated: KRW 1,900,000,000 – 3,000,000,000
KRW 2,301,000,000 / USD 1,640,867

YAYOI KUSAMA
Pumpkin, 2004
Acrylic on canvas
53 x 45.5 cm (20.9 x 17.9 inches)

#7. Pumpkin, 1989

Phillips London: 14 October 2022
GBP 700,000 – 1,000,000
GBP 1,135,700 / USD 1,273,206

YAYOI KUSAMA
Pumpkin, 1989
Acrylic on canvas
45 x 38.5 cm (17.7 x 15.1 inches)

#8. Pumpkin [TOWSSO], 2006

Christie’s London: 1 March 2022
Estimated: GBP 200,000 – 300,000
GBP 831,600 / USD 1,111,616

YAYOI KUSAMA
Pumpkin [TOWSSO], 2006
Acrylic on canvas
22.3 x 27.4 cm (8.7 x 10.7 inches)

#9. Pumpkin, 1989

Christie’s online: 11 October 2022
Estimated: HKD 6,000,000 – 8,000,000
HKD 7,560,000 / USD 963,045

YAYOI KUSAMA (B. 1929), Pumpkin | Christie’s (christies.com)

YAYOI KUSAMA (B. 1929)
Pumpkin, 1989
Acrylic on canvas
32.2 x 41.2 cm (12 5/8 x 16 1/4 inches)
Signed and dated ‘1989 yayoi kusama’ and titled in Japanese (on the reverse)

#10. Pumpkin, 2003

Seoul Auction: 25 January 2022
Estimated: KRW 950,000,000 – 1,100,000,000
KRW 1,046,500,000 / USD 873,019

YAYOI KUSAMA
Pumpkin, 2003
Acrylic on canvas
22 x 27.3 cm (8.7 x 10.7 inches)
Signed, dated and titled on reverse

#11. Pumpkin, 1982

Seoul Auction: 28 June 2022
Estimated: KRW 800,000,000 – 1,200,000,000
KRW 944,000,000 / USD 744,146

YAYOI KUSAMA
Pumpkin, 1982
Acrylic and collage on canvas
15.8 x 22.9 cm (6 1/8 x 9 inches)
Signed, dated and titled on reverse

#12. Pumpkin, 1990

Christie’s Hong-Kong: 30 November 2022
Estimated: HKD 1,800,000 – 2,800,000
HKD 5,670,000 / USD 728,997

YAYOI KUSAMA (B. 1929)
Pumpkin, 1990
Acrylic on canvas
15.8 x 22.7 cm (6 1/4 x 8 7/8 inches)
Signed and dated ‘YAYOI KUSAMA 1990’ and titled in Japanese (on the reverse)

#13. Pumpkin, 1991

Seoul Auction: 26 July 2022
Estimated: KRW 780,000,000 – 1,200,000,000
KRW 920,400,000 / USD 713,700

YAYOI KUSAMA
Pumpkin, 1991
Acrylic on canvas
22.7 x 15.5 cm (9 x 6 1/8 inches)
Signed, titled and dated on the reverse

#14. Pumpkin, 1991

Seoul Auction: 23 August 2022
Estimated: KRW 800,000,000 – 1,200,000,000
KRW 920,400,000 / USD 699,251

YAYOI KUSAMA
Pumpkin, 1991
Acrylic and collage on canvas
22.5 x 16 cm (8 7/8 x 6 1/3 inches)
Signed, dated and titled on reverse

#15. Pumpkin, 2001

Phillips London: 4 March 2022
Estimated: GBP 200,000 – 300,000
GBP 516,600 / USD 682,520

Yayoi Kusama – 20th Century & Contemp… Lot 125 March 2022 | Phillips

#16. Pumpkin, 1989

SBI Art Auction: 28 May 2022
Estimated: JPY 30,000,000 – 50,000,000
JPY 82,800,000 / USD 651,336

YAYOI KUSAMA
Pumpkin, 1989
Acrylic on canvas
15.8 x 22.7 cm (6.2 x 8.9 inches)
Signed, titled and dated on reverse

#17. Pumpkin, 2001

SBI Art Auction: 28 May 2022
Estimated: JPY 20,000,000 – 30,000,000
JPY 80,500,000 / USD 633,244

YAYOI KUSAMA
Pumpkin, 2001
Acrylic on canvas
14×18 cm (5 1/2 x 7 1/8 inches)
Signed, titled and dated on reverse

#18. Pumpkin (AAA), 2001

SBI Art Auction: 12 March 2022
Estimated: JPY 30,000,000 – 50,000,000
JPY 77,050,000 / USD 656,696

YAYOI KUSAMA
Pumpkin (AAA), 2001
Acrylic on canvas
15.8 x 22.7 cm (6.2 x 8.9 inches)
Signed, titled and dated on reverse

#19. Pumpkin, 1991

Seoul Auction: 22 February 2022
Estimate on Request
KRW 731,600,000 / USD 613,135

YAYOI KUSAMA
Pumpkin, 1991
Acrylic on canvas
22.7 x 15.8 cm (8.9 x 6.2 inches)
Signed, titled and dated on reverse

#20. Pumpkin, 1990

Sotheby’s London: 30 June 2022
Estimated: GBP 200,000 – 300,000
GBP 478,800 / USD 582,198

Pumpkin | Modern & Contemporary Day Auction | 2022 | Sotheby’s (sothebys.com)

YAYOI KUSAMA (b. 1929)
Pumpkin, 1990
Acrylic and pencil on canvas
18×14 cm (7 x 5 1/2 inches)
Signed, titled and dated 1990 on the reverse

#21. Pumpkin, 1989

Christie’s New-York: 12 May 2022
Estimated: USD 250,000 – 350,000
USD 529,200

YAYOI KUSAMA (B. 1929) (christies.com)

YAYOI KUSAMA
Pumpkin, 1989
Acrylic on canvas
18.4 x 14.3 cm (7.2 x 5.6 inches)

#22. Pumpkin, 1991

Seoul Auction: 25 October 2022
Estimated: KRW 600,000,000 – 900,000,000
KRW 719,800,000 / USD 512,916

YAYOI KUSAMA
Pumpkin, 1991
Acrylic on canvas
15.8 x 22.7 cm (6 1/8 x 9 inches)
Signed, titled and dated on the reverse

#23. Pumpkin A, B, C, 2003

Christie’s London: 14 October 2022
Estimated: GBP 250,000 – 350,000
GBP 453,600 / USD 508,520

YAYOI KUSAMA
Pumpkin A, B, C, 2003
Acrylic on canvas
14×18 cm (5 1/2 x 7 1/8 inches)

#24. Pumpkin, 1991

Bonhams New-York: 19 May 2022
Estimated: USD 250,000 – 350,000
USD 466,575

Bonhams : YAYOI KUSAMA (B. 1929) Pumpkin 1991

#8. Pumpkin, 1990

Phillips Hong-Kong: 7 June 2021
Estimated: HKD 4,800,000 – 6,800,000
HKD 12,592,000 / USD 1,622,847

Yayoi Kusama – 20th Century & Contempo… Lot 179 June 2021 | Phillips

#11. Pumpkin, 1991

Seoul Auction: 23 November 2021
Estimated: KRW 400,000,000 – 500,000,000
KRW 632,500,000 / USD 531,205

#17. Pumpkin, 1990

Seoul Auction: 2 June 2021
Estimated: KRW 350,000,000 – 450,000,000
KRW 471,500,000 / USD 424,440

#18. Pumpkin [TWO], 2005

2020 Auction Results

#1. A-PUMPKIN-SPW, 2014

Sotheby’s Hong-Kong: 9 July 2020
Estimated: HKD 10,000,000 – 20,000,000
HKD 25,615,000 / USD 3,305,100

(#1127) YAYOI KUSAMA | Pumpkin Army

YAYOI KUSAMA
Pumpkin Army, 2014
Acrylic on canvas
130.3 x 162 cm (51 1/4 x 63 3/4 inches)
Signed, title and dated 2014 on the reverse

#4. Pumpkin, 1989

Christie’s Hong-Kong: 3 December 2020
Estimated: HKD 4,800,000 – 6,800,000
HKD 15,250,000 / USD 1,967,370

YAYOI KUSAMA (B. 1929), Pumpkin | Christie’s

YAYOI KUSAMA (B. 1929)
Pumpkin, 1989
Acrylic on canvas
46×38 cm (18 1/8 x 15 inches)
Signed and dated ‘yayoi kusama 1989’
Titled in Japanese (on the reverse)

#5. Pumpkin, 1981

Christie’s Hong-Kong: 10 July 2020
Estimated: HKD 8,500,000 – 12,000,000
HKD 14,525,000 / USD 1,873,860

Yayoi Kusama (b. 1929), Pumpkin | Christie’s

YAYOI KUSAMA (b. 1929)
Pumpkin, 1981
Acrylic and cloth collage on canvas
60.6 x 50 cm (23 7/8 x 19 5/8 inches)
Signed, dated ‘Yayoi Kusama 1981’ and titled in Japanese (on the reverse)

#6. Pumpkin(B), 1991

Ravenel Taiwan: 19 July 2020
Estimated: TWD 40,000,000 – 60,000,000
TWD 51,840,000 / USD 1,753,720

Ravenel | Yayoi KUSAMA《Pumpkin(B)》 Ravenel Spring Auction 2020 Taipei Lot 129

YAYOI KUSAMA
Pumpkin(B), 1991
Acrylic on canvas
91 x 72.7 cm
Signed on the reverse Yayoi Kusama in English
Titled Pumpkin(B) in Japanese and English, dated 1991

#7. Pumpkin, 2006

SBI Art Auction: 9 February 2020
Estimated: JPY 40,000,000 – 70,000,000
JPY 72,450,000 / USD 665,325

RESULTS｜SBI Art Auction

YAYOI KUSAMA
Pumpkin, 2006
Acrylic on canvas
38 x 45.5 cm (15 x 17 7/8 inches)
Signed, titled and dated on the reverse

#8. Pumpkin, 1989

Seoul Auction: 25 March 2020
Estimated: KRW 700,000,000 – 1,500,000,000
KRW 805,000,000 / USD 648,170

YAYOI KUSAMA
Pumpkin, 1989
Acrylic on canvas
37.8 x 45.2 cm (14 7/8 x 17 7/8 inches)
Signed, titled and dated on the reverse

#9. Pumpkin, 2000

SBI Art Auction: 20 June 2020
Estimated: JPY 35,000,000 – 50,000,000
JPY 41,400,000 / USD 387,490

RESULTS｜SBI Art Auction

YAYOI KUSAMA
Pumpkin, 2000
Acrylic on canvas
24.2 x 33.3 cm (9 1/2 x 13 1/8 inches)
Signed, titled and dated on the reverse

#10. Pumpkin, 1995

Seoul Auction: 30 April 2020
Estimated: KRW 400,000,000 – 600,000,000
KRW 460,000,000 / USD 377,370

YAYOI KUSAMA
Pumpkin, 1995
Acrylic on canvas
22 x 27.3 cm (8 5/8 x 10 3/4 inches)
Signed, titled and dated on the reverse

#11. Pumpkin, 1995

SBI Art Auction: 20 June 2020
Estimated: JPY 30,000,000 – 50,000,000
JPY 36,800,000 / USD 344,435

RESULTS｜SBI Art Auction

YAYOI KUSAMA
Pumpkin, 1995
Acrylic on canvas
24.2 x 33.3 cm (9 1/2 x 13 1/8 inches)
Signed, titled and dated on the reverse

#12. Pumpkin (B.B.B), 2001

K Auction Seoul: 23 January 2020
Estimated: KRW 270,000,000 – 450,000,000
KRW 333,500,000 / USD 286,530

YAYOI KUSAMA
Pumpkin (B.B.B), 2001
Acrylic on canvas
15.8 x 22.7 cm (6 1/8 x 8 7/8 inches)
Signed, titled and dated on the reverse

#13. Pumpkin, 1990

Seoul Auction: 29 October 2020
Estimated: KRW 230,000,000 – 330,000,000
KRW 304,750,000 / USD 268,200

YAYOI KUSAMA
Pumpkin, 1990
Acrylic on canvas
15.8 x 22.7 cm (6 1/8 x 8 7/8 inches)
Signed, titled and dated on the reverse

#14. Pumpkin, 1995

Christie’s London: 13 February 2020
Estimated: GBP 120,000 – 150,000
GBP 200,000 / USD 260,680

Yayoi Kusama (b. 1929), Pumpkin | Christie’s

YAYOI KUSAMA (b. 1929)
Pumpkin, 1995
Acrylic on canvas
6 1/8 x 8 7/8 inches (15.5 x 22.5 cm)
Signed, signed in Japanese and dated ‘YAYOI KUSAMA 1995’ (on the reverse)

#15. Pumpkin, 2000

K Auction Seoul: 26 November 2020
Estimated: KRW 250,000,000 – 450,000,000
KRW 287,500,000 / USD 259,830

YAYOI KUSAMA
Pumpkin, 2000
Acrylic on canvas
22 x 15.5 cm (8 5/8 x 6 1/8 inches)
Signed, titled and dated on the reverse

#16. PUMPKIN, 1993

Sotheby’s Hong-Kong: 7 October 2020
Estimated: HKD 1,200,000 – 2,200,000
HKD 1,890,000 / USD 243,865

YAYOI KUSAMA 草間彌生 | PUMPKIN 南瓜 | Contemporary Art Day Sale | 2020 | Sotheby’s

YAYOI KUSAMA (b. 1929)
PUMPKIN, 1993
Acrylic on canvas
15.8 x 22.7 cm (6 1/4 x 9 7/8 inches)
Signed, titled and dated 1993 on the reverse

 

 

2019 Auction Results

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#4. Pumpkin, 1991

#5. Pumpkin, 1991

#6. Pumpkin, 1989

#7. A. PUMPKIN (Y), 2004

#8. Pumpkin, 1998

#9. Pumpkin, 2003

Pumpkin TWAA, 2003

Christie’s New-York: 16 May 2019
Estimated: USD 150,000 – 200,000
USD 300,000

Yayoi Kusama (b. 1929), Pumpkin TWAA | Christie’s

YAYOI KUSAMA (b. 1929)
Pumpkin TWAA, 2003
Acrylic on canvas
15.8 x 22.9 cm (6 1/4 x 9 inches)
Signed, titled in English and Japanese and dated ‘Yayoi Kusama 2003 PUMPKIN TWAA’
(on the reverse)

 

 

PART III: PUMPKIN PAINTINGS BY SIZE

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Pumpkin (X-Large)

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Pumpkin, 1993

Christie’s Hong-Kong: 27 March 2026
Estimated: HKD 32,000,000 – 40,000,000
HKD 39,540,000 / USD 5,049,810

YAYOI KUSAMA (B. 1929), Pumpkin | Christie’s

YAYOI KUSAMA (B. 1929)
Pumpkin, 1993
Acrylic on canvas
91 x 116.8 cm (35-7/8 x 46 inches)
Signed, titled in Japanese and dated ‘Yayoi Kusama 1993’ (on the reverse)

PUMPKIN [FBAN], 2013

Christie’s Hong-Kong: 28 November 2023
Estimated: HKD 38,000,000 – 55,000,000
HKD 46,355,000 / USD 5,951,233

YAYOI KUSAMA (B. 1929) (christies.com)

YAYOI KUSAMA (B. 1929)
PUMPKIN [FBAN], 2013
Acrylic on canvas
130.3 x 161.5 cm (51 1/4 x 63 1/2 inches)
Signed, titled and dated ‘FBAN PUMPKIN YAYOI KUSAMA 2013’ (on the reverse)

A-Pumpkin (BAGN8), 2011

Sotheby’s Hong-Kong: 5 April 2023
Estimated: HKD 40,000,000 – 55,000,000
HKD 55,169,500 / USD 7,028,051

Yayoi Kusama 草間彌生 | A-Pumpkin (BAGN8) | 50th Anniversary Contemporary Evening Auction | 2023 | Sotheby’s (sothebys.com)

YAYOI KUSAMA (b. 1929)
A-Pumpkin (BAGN8), 2011
Acrylic on canvas
162×130 cm (63 3/4 x 51 1/8 inches)
Signed, titled and dated 2011 on the reverse

Created in 2011 at the apex of the artist’s global rise to pre-eminence, A-Pumpkin (BAGN8) bursts with whimsical charm, an emblem of the artist’s epochal multi-faceted oeuvre. Vibrating with luminous energy, the anthropomorphic pumpkin presents the legendary artist at the height of her powers – a testament to decades of astonishing dedication to creation, technique, and a singular artistic vision. Executed in the artist’s signature black and yellow color palette and of large size the artist conducts her pumpkin compositions, A-Pumpkin (BAGN8) exudes a luminous quality, the bright yellow of the pumpkin’s surface cutting through the shadowy blackness of Kusama’s all-over scaled tessellations. An iconic iteration of another of the artist’s instantly recognizable motifs, the net pattern is so dexterously rendered that the canvas hums with rhythmic intensity.

Embodying an iconic, charismatic and highly personal motif, Kusama’s early pumpkins were painted in the traditional Nihonga style of which she was formerly trained. Enrolling at the at Kyoto City Senior High School of Art in the late 1940s, Kusama described that “During my time in Kyoto I diligently painted pumpkins, which in later years would become an important theme in my art” (Kusama Yayoi, Infinity Net: The Autobiography of Yayoi Kusama, trans. Ralph McCarthy, London 2011, p. 75). Following an explosive rise to fame in New York in the 1960’s, Kusama returned to Japan in 1973, beginning to combine her signature all-over Infinity Nets and obliterating polka-dot aesthetic with the motif of the ubiquitous gourd. During the 1980’s, Kusama explored colorful variations of her pumpkin-pattern in two-dimensional paintings, drawings and prints; the distinctive texture of the vegetable’s hardy skin growing ever defter and more accomplished, with the flowing lines of dots advancing and receding rhythmically in a fastidiously precise yet dynamically organic manner.

Pumpkin, 1995

Phillips Hong-Kong: 30 March 2023
Estimated: HKD 40,000,000 – 50,000,000
HKD 56,110,000 / USD 7,147,862

Yayoi Kusama – 20th Century & Contempo… Lot 10 March 2023 | Phillips

With its charming, jolly and peaceful presence, the pumpkin is unequivocally the most iconic motif of Kusama’s career. Full, symmetrical and voluptuous, the current work is an exquisite example of the artist’s highly coveted pumpkin paintings. Vibrantly rendered in golden yellow juxtaposed against ebony black, Pumpkin is undeniably and distinctly Kusama in its sharp contrast. An early example that is archetypal of Kusama’s pumpkin motif, the current work masterfully encapsulates the artist’s obsessional focus on accumulation, repetition, and the infinite through the combination of the three pillars that define her artistic practice – dots, nets, and the pumpkin.

Intricate in its execution and instantly arresting, Pumpkin is the epitome of the artist’s unique artistic expression through which she achieves self-obliteration through repetition. The multi-sized striated black dots in Pumpkin slither over the golden surface of the gourd’s bulbous form, creating an optical illusion of depth through varied sizes that showcases Kusama’s unparalleled skill and dexterity in her command of the medium. These all-encompassing dots coalesce into waves of pattern set against a latticed background, together forming a fluctuating visual field that moves beyond the picture plane, drawing the viewer into a delicate web of color and shape.

A-Pumpkin (OTRSSA), 2014

Seoul Auction: 29 November 2022
Estimated: KRW 8,000,000,000 – 18,000,000,000
KRW 6,419,999,700 / USD 4,837,475
(HAMMER)

YAYOI KUSAMA
A-Pumpkin (OTRSSA), 2014
Acrylic on canvas
112 x 145.5 cm (44.1 x 57.3 inches)

Pumpkin (LPASG), 2013

Christie’s Hong-Kong: 30 November 2021
Estimated: HKD 45,000,000 – 65,000,000
HKD 62,540,000 / USD 8,026,799

YAYOI KUSAMA (B. 1929) (christies.com)

YAYOI KUSAMA
Pumpkin (LPASG), 2013
Acrylic on canvas
130.3 x 130.3 cm (51.2 x 51.2 inches)

This year, the 92-year-old Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama opened not just one but two major shows: ‘Cosmic Nature,’ a sculpture and installation exhibition at New York Botanical Garden and ‘Yayoi Kusama: A Retrospective,’ the artist’s first comprehensive retrospective in Germany at Gropius Bau, Berlin. Just as many other previous shows with visitors snaking in queues, the two soon became the favorite 2021 cultural events of many, underscoring the enduring appeal of the Japanese artist with her portrayal of hallucinatory experiences, particularly with the subject matter – pumpkin.

Pumpkin is a symbol of triumph in Kusama’s artistic career and life. Yayoi Kusama grew up in Matsumoto in Nagano Prefecture, Japan. She has been captivated by pumpkins since she was small at the seed harvesting farm of her family’s. In the early 1940s, the artist started experiencing hallucinations, and around the same time she started painting pumpkin. Looking for a breakthrough and unsupported by her family, Kusama embarked on a solo journey and moved across the Pacific Ocean to New York in 1958. She immersed herself in the city’s post-war cultural scene, quickly establishing a reputation in the new environment. Shortly within a year, she debuted her solo exhibition in the city and created a buzz in the art circle. Turning vulnerabilities into power, Kusama nullified the intense hallucinations she experienced by introducing them into her painterly reality and created these kaleidoscope patterns of dots and nets repeatedly. The iconic dotted pumpkin thus became a display of her internal struggles, in which she returned to a state of mental balance by creating endless colorful iterations of the spotted fruit. Today, the pumpkin has achieved an almost mythical status in Kusama’s oeuvre and stands as the artist’s alter ego.

Pumpkin, 1981

Seoul Auction: 23 November 2021
Estimate on Request
KRW 6,267,500,000 / USD 5,263,746

YAYOI KUSAMA
Pumpkin, 1981
Acrylic on canvas
116.5 x 91 cm (45.9 x 35.8 inches)
Signed, titled and dated on the canvas stretcher bar

A-PUMPKIN SKLO, 2013

Christie’s Hong-Kong: 23 May 2021
Estimated: HKD 40,000,000 – 60,000,000
HKD 50,650,000 / USD 6,522,775

YAYOI KUSAMA (B. 1929) (christies.com)

YAYOI KUSAMA
A-PUMPKIN SKLO, 2013
Acrylic on canvas
130.3 x 162 cm (51.2 x 63.7 inches)

Painted in 2013, A-PUMPKIN SKLO, is a dazzling example of Kusama’s mature pumpkin painting. The work pulsates with the intensity of the artist’s focus as she paints dot after dot in precisely controlled rows. Despite using only two colors – yellow and black, she produces an illusion of depth and shadow by placing larger dots on the ridges and smaller dots on the creases. The pattern repeats and repeats, echoing the artist’s use of mirrors in her installations, as well as her lifelong obsession with patterns and repetitions. The pumpkin is situated on a web of tasseled yellow nets on a black background, evoking overlapping waves or fields of leaves, a stylized take on the artist’s iconic Infinity Nets. Blurring the boundaries between representation and abstraction, A-PUMPKIN SKLO allows viewers to peek into Kusama’s unique and complex mindscape.

A-PUMPKIN-SPW, 2014

A-PUMPKIN-(CHA), 2011

Executed in 2011, A-PUMPKIN (CHA) is a resplendent, flawlessly executed archetype from Yayoi Kusama’s oeuvre – a testament to almost nine decades of astonishing dedication to creation, technique, and a singular artistic vision. In the background, Kusama’s all-over scaled tessellations – an iconic iteration of the artist’s most distinctive infinity net motif employed often within her pumpkin paintings – are so tightly and dexterously woven that the canvas hums with the rhythmic intensity of the pattern. The pumpkin itself, anthropomorphic and brilliantly luminous, presents the legendary artist at the height of her powers: each gleaming circle shimmers and vibrates; each meticulously crafted row of multi-striated dots throbs and slithers fluidly down the body of the gourd. Supremely unparalleled in terms of quality of execution and the disorienting yet mesmerizing complexity of pattern and form, A-PUMPKIN (CHA) is an undeniable magnum opus of one of the most legendary figures of contemporary art.

The present A-PUMPKIN (CHA) was created in 2011, by which time Kusama had become a global household name. The artist’s international resurgence and rise to global stardom occurred in parallel with – and was inextricably tied with – her iconic pumpkin motif. It was to pumpkins that Kusama turned for solace during her period of reclusion, and it was with pumpkins in mind that she set about creating a work for her momentous Venice Biennale comeback. The pumpkin stands as a symbol of triumph for the artist’s personal as well as artistic rebirth, representing a mediation of the artist’s psychiatric illness that went hand-in-hand with the ever-increasing sophistication, dexterity and creativity of her creations. As Alexandra Munroe writes, Kusama’s art requires her “not only to surrender to madness but also to triumph over it; trauma must be substantially transformed before it can communicate to others as beauty and meaning” (Alexandra Munroe, ‘Between Heaven and earth: The Literary Art of Yayoi Kusama’, in Exh. Cat. Love Forever: Yayoi Kusama 1958-1968, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 1998, p. 81).

 

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Pumpkin (Large)

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Pumpkin, 2000

Bonhams Hong-Kong: 29 March 2026
Estimated: HKD 15,000,000 – 25,000,000
HKD 22,234,000 / USD 2,839,690

Bonhams : YAYOI KUSAMA (B. 1929) Pumpkin

YAYOI KUSAMA (B. 1929)
Pumpkin, 2000
Acrylic on canvas
60×72 cm (23-5/8 x 28-3/8 inches)
Signed and dated 2000 on the reverse

Throughout centuries of evolution in visual arts, color has transcended its role as a mere accessory to subject, technique, and composition to become a core element that speaks directly to the depths of human spirit and emotion. Nineteenth-century Impressionist painters broke traditional constraints by using color to capture fleeting moments of light and shadow. Henri Matisse further liberated the individual character of color, and within the context of post-war contemporary art, color became an independent language for artists to express themselves and transmit spiritual power. When Kusama rose to prominence in the American contemporary art scene in the 1960s, she already viewed color as an independent visual language, leading to her development of monochromatic abstract paintings. Archival photographs reveal that red was her most favored color alongside white, and its magnetic appeal has been fully realized through her astonishing creativity.

In color theory, red possesses an inherent visual advantage and emotional tension that establishes its irreplaceable core position in artistic creation. This status stems from its physical properties and the diverse symbolic meanings assigned to it by various cultures. In East Asian cultures, red primarily symbolizes the sacred, authority, celebration, auspiciousness, and the power to ward off evil. From religious architecture and traditional festivals to daily customs, red plays an essential, transcendent role. In Western art history, red serves as a symbol of sublimity and salvation in religious paintings, as well as a vehicle for expressing rebellion, freedom, and emotional catharsis in modern art.

Throughout art history, countless masters have left iconic works using red as their medium. In Assumption of the Virgin (1516-1518), Titian masterfully uses red as a visual bridge connecting God, the Virgin Mary, and the apostles, allowing viewers to intuitively experience the solemnity of religious faith. Matisse’s masterpiece The Red Studio fills the space with red, eliminating all illusions of perspective and depth to highlight the pure power of color. Mark Rothko’s use of red pushes emotional expression to its absolute limit; his vivid reds evoke warmth, passion, and religious ecstasy. This immersive expression of “color as emotion” creates a cross-temporal dialogue with Kusama’s application of red.

“One day, I was looking at the red flower patterns of the tablecloth on a table, and when I looked up I saw the same pattern covering the ceiling, the windows, and the walls, and finally all over the room, my body and the universe. I felt as if I had begun to self-obliterate.”

To understand Kusama’s “red,” one must return to the artist’s unique life experiences. Since childhood, she has been accompanied by severe hallucinations and psychological distress. These visual experiences—especially the endlessly proliferating polka dots and net structures—became the most primal driving force and source material for her art. Her art is a magnificent, lifelong ritual of externalizing and mastering her inner visions. Every color on her canvas, particularly the dominant red, is a direct manifestation of her internal landscape. This red is the burning sensation of nerve endings and an eruption of life force. Red is intimately connected to Kusama’s philosophy of “self-obliteration,” permeating every corner of the canvas and linking the pumpkin with the patterned nets in the background. This facilitates a natural process of fusion between the subject and its environment. Kusama views each mesh of the net as a dot element that makes up the vast universe. Therefore, the pumpkin is not an isolated entity, but rather one with all things in the cosmos.

Alongside the abstract “Infinity Nets,” the pumpkin is undeniably Kusama’s most recognizable motif. It is not merely a subject for still-life painting, but rather serves as the artist’s spiritual symbol and alter ego, connecting her childhood memories to the infinite universe. The birth of this symbol is rooted in her background growing up in a Japanese family that managed a seed nursery, where the pumpkin was the most familiar and comforting presence among the plants. In her memory, pumpkins are round, full, and resilient, possessing a robust vitality despite lacking a glamorous exterior. These characteristics perfectly align with her own personality, making the pumpkin a concrete projection of her inner world. The Kusama pumpkins most familiar to the public are predominantly yellow. The warm, bright hue gives them a strong sense of affinity, establishing them as an iconic hallmark. In 1993, at the Japanese Pavilion of the Venice Biennale, Kusama presented a mirror room reflecting an infinite number of yellow pumpkin sculptures—an image that has become a classic in contemporary art history. Objectively speaking, red pumpkins are much rarer, and compared to their yellow counterparts, they project an innate sense of nobility and commanding presence.

The reason Kusama’s pumpkin has become a global icon of contemporary art is deeply tied to the historical context of the Pop Art movement. Kusama’s pumpkin and Andy Warhol’s Campbell’s Soup Cans are among the most representative “everyday symbols” in post-war contemporary art history. In the 1960s, Pop Art blurred the boundaries between high and low culture by drawing inspiration from daily life and employing flattened, symbolic techniques to reconstruct aesthetic values. Kusama’s pumpkin paintings shed the objective constraints of depth and chiaroscuro, condensing into highly recognizable symbols. Furthermore, in most instances, Kusama’s pumpkins occupy the central focus of the composition, elevating the work from a mere still life to a portrait of the artist herself.

While sharing the same motif, every pumpkin work is a unique individual. Much like human beings, they possess distinct personalities and forms. Some are elongated, others are perfectly round; some tilt slightly to suggest motion, while others sit squarely in balanced composure. A close examination of the undulating curves, the density of the polka dots, and the rhythm reveals crucial personality differences within the same subject. It is this “difference within similarity” that allows the pumpkin to be both a memorable mass symbol and a vessel retaining the trace of the artist’s hand and spiritual warmth. While Andy Warhol’s Campbell’s Soup Cans emphasize reproduction and standardization to reflect on consumer society, Kusama emphasizes uniqueness and spirituality. By utilizing the pumpkin as her avatar and spiritual totem, she diverges from standard commercial reproduction. Even within the visual language of Pop Art, her pumpkins secure an irreplaceable position in contemporary art history through their profound spiritual substance.

Pumpkin, 2000

Christie’s Hong-Kong: 28 May 2023
Estimated: HKD 28,000,000 – 38,000,000
HKD 40,305,000 / USD 5,145,407

YAYOI KUSAMA (B. 1929) (christies.com)

YAYOI KUSAMA (B. 1929)
Pumpkin, 2000
Acrylic on canvas
73 x 90.8 cm (28 3/4 x 35 3/4 in)
Titled in Japanese, signed and dated ‘YAYOI KUSAMA 2000’ (on the reverse)

Pumpkin, 1991

Christie’s New-York: 17 May 2023
Estimated: USD 1,500,000 – 2,000,000
USD 2,046,500

YAYOI KUSAMA (B. 1929) (christies.com)

YAYOI KUSAMA (B. 1929)
Pumpkin, 1991
Acrylic on canvas
72.7 x 90.8 cm (28 5/8 x 35 3/4 inches)
Signed, titled in Japanese and dated ‘Yayoi Kusama 1991’ (on the reverse)

Yayoi Kusama’s Pumpkin is a timeless work that presents a peerless iteration of the artist’s now iconic motif. Intimately scaled, yet gesturing toward big questions, the present work elevates a humble object into something mythic and beautiful. Kusama’s work has always asked us to see life in a new way, and here she has given special attention to something that might initially seem unremarkable. The use of black and white recalls her earlier canvases like No. 2 (1959) and White No. 28 (1960) from her Infinity Net series, and the silver-colored stalk alludes to her use of reflective and mirrored surfaces. Spiritual and cosmic, this black and white composition is exquisite, and offers even more insight into Kusama’s mind and process. Using her signature dots and detailed, interlocking shapes, Kusama engenders a magisterial space with Pumpkin that is as poetic and bold as a canvas by Jackson Pollock or Willem de Kooning.

Kusama melds the pumpkin with her Infinity Net technique and imagery, revealing her painterly skill as much as her penchant for bold forms. Pumpkin is surrounded by the rhythms of Kusama’s contiguous triangular forms. It is as if the pumpkin is a planet surrounded by stars, its gravitational force exerting its power on the painting itself, as well as on the viewer. Like her mentor Georgia O’Keefe, Kusama uses natural, biomorphic forms to speak to the embodied history of painting.

With its complex references to the body, the present work illustrates Kusama’s empathy.

 “It seems that pumpkins do not inspire much respect, but I was enchanted by their charming and winsome form. What appealed to me most was the pumpkin’s generous unpretentiousness.”

Pumpkin shows us that anything that we approach with love and fascination can become art—a Warholian gesture and an act of generosity. The pumpkin functions as a self-portrait for Kusama, and an unexpected symbol of passion and struggle. For her, the pumpkin is a symbol of comfort and optimism.

Pumpkin, 1993

Christie’s New-York: 15 May 2023
Estimated: USD 4,000,000 – 6,000,000
USD 4,890,000

YAYOI KUSAMA (B. 1929) (christies.com)

YAYOI KUSAMA (B. 1929)
Pumpkin, 1993
Acrylic on canvas
73 x 90.8 cm (28 3/4 x 35 3/4 inches)
Signed, titled in Japanese and dated ‘Yayoi Kusama 1993’ (on the reverse)

The luxurious curves of Yayoi Kusama’s yellow Pumpkin are subtle, tactile, and evocative. Its vibrant colors resemble the sun and the earth, somewhere peaceful and introspective. This desire for generating reflection in the viewer, especially through unexpected objects and images, has always been Kusama’s practice. Painted almost life size, Pumpkin surges with the artist’s perennial vitality even as it mirrors a natural scale.

Painted in 1993, Pumpkin was executed at a pivotal time for the artist. She was chosen as the first single artist to represent Japan in her country’s pavilion at the Giardini, and the centerpiece of her exhibit was a large yellow pumpkin installed in one of her signature mirrored Infinity Rooms. The color yellow has occupied a central place within art history, celebrated for both its visceral and spiritual qualities. The most famous modern example might be Paul Gauguin’s The Yellow Christ (1889), which, like Pumpkin, uses color to ends both surreal and true to life. Given its contemplative, almost spiritual nature, Pumpkin might evoke Mark Rothko’s Orange, Red, Yellow (1961) or Helen Frankenthaler’s Yellow Crater (1963-1964). What these disparate works have in common, if viewed alongside Kusama’s Pumpkin, is a shared optimism, even a utopian quality. For to approach the color of the sun is itself a massive statement that brings art closer to life, which has been Kusama’s goal.  In this way, Yellow Pumpkin combines a personal experience with a universal one. Kusama’s work is sunny indeed, and within that lust for life is an entire history of emotion in art through the centuries.

Pumpkin, 2005

Poly Auction Hong-Kong: 5 April 2023
Estimated: HKD 25,000,000 – 35,000,000
HKD 30,000,000 / USD 3,821,730

YAYOI KUSAMA
Pumpkin, 2005
Acrylic on canvas
91.5 x 73.2 cm (36 xx 28.8 inches)
Signed, dated and titled on the reverse

Pumpkin, 1990

Sotheby’s Hong-Kong: 27 April 2022
Estimated: HKD 8,000,000 – 15,000,000
HKD 30,625,000 / USD 3,902,864

Yayoi Kusama 草間彌生 | Pumpkin 南瓜 | Contemporary Evening Auction | 2022 | Sotheby’s (sothebys.com)

YAYOI KUSAMA
Pumpkin, 1990 
Acrylic on canvas
72.5 x 60.5 cm (28.5 x 23.9 inches)

Executed in 1990, Pumpkin is a spellbinding, flawlessly executed archetype from Yayoi Kusama’s oeuvre – a testament to her astonishing dedication to creation, technique, and a singular artistic vision. Full and symmetrical, the pumpkin of the present work is a splendid example of her most favored motif. In the background, Kusama’s all-over scaled tessellations – an iconic iteration of the artist’s most distinctive infinity net motif employed often within her pumpkin paintings – are so tightly and dexterously woven that the canvas hums with the rhythmic intensity of the pattern. The pumpkin itself, anthropomorphic and brilliantly luminous, presents the legendary artist at the height of her powers: each gleaming circle shimmers and vibrates; each meticulously crafted row of multi-striated dots throbs and slithers fluidly down the body of the gourd.

Pumpkin, 1991

Christie’s Hong-Kong: 1 December 2021
Estimated: HKD 16,500,000 – 22,500,000
HKD 26,650,000 / USD 3,419,560

YAYOI KUSAMA (B. 1929) (christies.com)

YAYOI KUSAMA
Pumpkin, 1991
Acrylic on canvas
72.7 x 60.6 cm (28.6 x 23.9 inches)

Painted in 1991, Pumpkin presents one of the most iconic motifs that is so dear to Yayoi Kusama’s heart in a rare cobalt green color. Decorated with a myriad of dots against the contrasting infinity net background, the electric green, slender pumpkin stands solemnly at the center of this work. Among the many whimsical, colorful variations of gourds and squashes in Kusama’s oeuvres, Pumpkin bears a special cultural reference to the artist’s roots. In Japanese, green (midori) is an auspicious color representing the energy of growth and vitality in its traditional culture, just as red is in its Chinese counterpart. Pumpkin from 1991 is also one of only three green pumpkins that have appeared in auction in the past three years.

PUMPKIN, 1991

New Art Est-Ouest Auction: 1 October 2021
No Estimate Received
JPY 289,900,000 / USD 2,612,450

YAYOI KUSAMA
PUMPKIN, 1991
Acrylic on canvas
65.5 x 53.2 cm (25.8 x 20.9 inches)

Pumpkin, 1991

Sotheby’s Hong-Kong: 6 October 2019
Estimated: HKD 9,800,000 – 16,800,000
HKD 27,775,000 / USD 3,541,850

(#1138) YAYOI KUSAMA | Pumpkin

YAYOI KUSAMA
Pumpkin, 1991
Acrylic on canvas
72.6 x 90.5 cm (28 5/8 x 35 5/8 inches)
Signed in English, titled in Japanese and dated 1991 on the reverse

 

 

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Pumpkin (Medium)

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Pumpkin (8), 1997

Sotheby’s Hong-Kong: 30 March 2026
Estimated: HKD 5,200,000 – 7,000,000
HKD 7,040,000 / USD 899,105

Yayoi Kusama 草間彌生 | Pumpkin (8) 南瓜（8） | Contemporary Day Auction |

YAYOI KUSAMA (b. 1929)
Pumpkin (8), 1997
Acrylic on canvas
24.2 x 33.3 cm (9-1/2 x 13-1/8 inches)
Signed, titled in Japanese and dated 1997 (on the reverse)

Executed in 1997, Pumpkin (8) is a hypnotic, consummately realized exemplar of Yayoi Kusama’s practice, distilling her exacting technique and singular visual logic into a single, unforgettable image. Centred, full-bodied, and emphatically symmetrical, the pumpkin asserts itself directly at the center of the canvas in a brilliant red hue. Behind it, the meticulously woven, all-over tessellations of Kusama’s infinity nets create an undulating surface that hums with relentless, rhythmic insistence. Against this charged backdrop, the red pumpkin appears buoyant and monumental, anthropomorphic and optically alive. Each polished dot catches the eye like a pulse, while each striated band of marks flexes with the swelling contours so that the pattern appears to ripple, tighten, and release as it moves across the form.

Kusama’s pumpkin is one of the most iconic and immediately recognizable motifs in contemporary art. Born in 1929, Kusama is among the most influential Asian Contemporary artists in history, and the pumpkin is inarguably her most captivating, personal form. It is a symbol of triumph within her artistic iconography and her life. The motif is rooted in her childhood memories. Growing up in central Japan in a family of affluent farm merchants who owned a seed farm, Kusama developed an early fascination with the forms and textures of the agricultural world around her. Pumpkins, in particular, offered a powerful visual and emotional anchor, an organic presence that she began to weave into her dotted works as early as the 1940s. Over time, this humble fruit evolved into a source of spiritual solace, eventually achieving an almost mythical status as an alter ego. It’s become, a benign, consistent shape that allows the artist to express her anxieties and obsessive patterns.

“Pumpkins are lovable and their wonderfully wild and humorous atmosphere never ceases to capture the hearts of people. I adore pumpkins as my spiritual home since childhood and with their infinite spirituality they contribute to the peace of mankind across the world and to the celebration of humanity and by doing so they make me feel at peace. Pumpkins talk to me. Pumpkins, pumpkins, pumpkins. Giving off an aura of my sacred mental state. They embody a base for the joy of living, a living shared by all humankind on the earth. It is for the pumpkins that I keep going.”

In Pumpkin (8), Kusama deploys an amalgamation of her most paradigmatic and desirable creative elements. The work’s visual intensity is driven by line and contrast. The pumpkin’s curved body becomes a stage upon which rows of dots advance and recede, creating wave-like movements that articulate volume, growth, and an animated sense of depth. The effect is at once hypnotic and emphatic—a surface alive with rhythm, where repetition becomes vibration and decoration becomes an optical event.

The palette heightens this impact. Red, with its connotations of energy, passion, and strength, creates a bold visual statement that commands attention and lends the composition a heightened sense of urgency and presence. The title’s auspicious “8” further highlights the work’s symbolic resonance. Widely regarded as a number of prosperity, success, and good fortune, eight also carries a formal suggestion of continuity: its balanced looping structure evokes harmony and infinity, ideas that align seamlessly with Kusama’s lifelong pursuit of endlessness through repetition

Held in the same private collection for over a decade, Pumpkin (8) represents a rare and compelling manifestation of Yayoi Kusama’s most coveted subject. Among Kusama’s pumpkin paintings, yellow and red compositions have long been the most sought-after, yet red examples remain markedly scarcer in the marketplace. Within a market that has increasingly distinguished between abundance and true rarity, Pumpkin (8) occupies a privileged position as both an emblematic image and a unique chromatic variation. More than an exemplary painting within an internationally celebrated series, it is a rare red painting of this size held off the market for over ten years. The present lot encapsulates why Kusama’s pumpkins continue not only to define her legacy, but to captivate the market and the imagination with undiminished force.

Pumpkin, 1991

Poly Hong-Kong: 27 November 2024
Estimated: HKD 12,000,000 – 20,000,000
HKD 12,000,000 / USD 1,541,720

Pumpkin｜Poly Auction Hong Kong

YAYOI KUSAMA (B. 1929)
Pumpkin, 1991
Acrylic on canvas
38.2 x 45.6 cm (15×18 inches)
Signed and dated ‘YAYOI KUSAMA 1991’
Titled in Japanese (on the reverse)

Pumpkin painted in 1991 was created 33 years ago and remains as classic as ever. This yellow pumpkin with its nine plump and rounded segments is adorned with highly symmetrical black polka dots, perfectly embodying the artist’s obsessive-compulsive nature. This particular work represents the artist’s microcosm within a single gourd, a signature work of her biomorphic universe. Yayoi Kusama created numerous pumpkin paintings, each with distinctive features, while this particular piece encapsulates the three most representative symbols from her lifelong creative career: the pumpkin, the polka dot, and the infinity nets, t, with the plump pumpkin shape achieving ultimate symmetry. On the bright-colored pumpkin are the black polka dots meticulously drawn by Kusama, set against a backdrop of the infinity nets. The yellow pumpkin seems like a sun of pumpkins radiating golden light in the vast and desolate universe, and the polka dots on it are like seeds that will reproduce an infinite number of pumpkins in the future. In the universe of lines of the infinity net, the nine-lobed pumpkin exhausts the number ninety-nine, presenting to us Kusama’s vast cosmic world. This perfectly symmetrical, plump pumpkin with its stem standing upright as if reaching for the heavens is extremely rare in the secondary market.

Yayoi Kusama seems to find peace of mind through the meticulous depiction of the polka dots on the pumpkin, transforming the hallucinatory experiences that have grown with her since childhood into an artistic practice that is displayed for all to see, allowing the audience to resonate with the astonishing yet intimately familiar pumpkin works. Each of Yayoi Kusama’s pumpkin paintings is distinctly unique, with anthropomorphic personalities. She remembers the fields of her childhood home, where the sudden appearance of a large pumpkin head spoke to her, and then she transformed the mysterious experience into an artistic language. The pumpkin portraits depicted by the artist are like echoes of the magical talking pumpkin from her childhood, serving as self-portraits at every stage of her life and also as the most representative cosmic creature in her mind. This plump and golden pumpkin from 1991 is a rare piece that collectors of Yayoi Kusama’s work should not miss.

Red Pumpkin, 1989

Poly Auction Hong-Kong: 7 April 2024
Estimated: HKD 7,500,000 – 8,500,000
JPY 18,000,000 / USD 2,301,202

Red Pumpkin｜Poly Auction Hong Kong

YAYOI KUSAMA
Red Pumpkin, 1989
Acrylic on canvas
38 x 45.5 cm (15×18 inches)
Titled in Japanese; signed and dated ‘yayoi Kusama 1989’ (on the reverse)

In 1989, Yayoi Kusama hit a significant milestone in her career with her first international retrospective in North America, entitled Yayoi Kusama: A Retrospective, held in New York. This exhibition marked her return to the city after the artist left in 1974 and was a landmark occasion that stood in recognition of Kusama’s influential years in the city that reignited Western interest in her art. The pumpkin is adorned with Kusama’s trademark repetition of dots and is positioned in the center against a black background, surrounded by nets. What sets this pumpkin apart from others is its anthropomorphic quality and the use of five distinct colors. There are only a handful pumpkins of this rare quality to have been on auction, and this is one of the few. This pumpkin appears more personified and animated than others that are more portrayed as typical still life, with its two split “legs” seemingly allowing the pumpkin to dance towards the viewer.

Much like a direct reflection of the magnified pumpkins that live in Kusama’s mind—the ones she first encountered as a child when she visited a harvest with her grandfather during primary school. The pumpkin motif can be traced back to 1948 when Kusama first went to Kyoto to study “nihonga” painting and can be said to be an integral part of the artist’s oeuvre as a symbol close to the artist’s heart. With white dots against black and red nets, this five-colored pumpkin is distinctive with its vivid appearance, giving it the illusion of being three-dimensional as it appears to be jumping out of the canvas, and adds movement to the dancing pumpkin. The pumpkin is topped off with a blue dotted stem against a forest green base.

Pumpkin, 1981

Christie’s Hong-Kong: 29 November 2023
Estimated: HKD 3,800,000 – 5,500,000
HKD 16,105,000 / USD 2,067,622

YAYOI KUSAMA (B. 1929) (christies.com)

YAYOI KUSAMA (B. 1929)
Pumpkin, 1981
Acrylic on canvas
53 x 45.5 cm (20 7/8 x 17 7/8 inches)
Titled in Japanese, signed, dated and inscribed ‘Yayoi Kusama 1981 F10’ (on the reverse)
Titled in Kanji, signed and dated again ‘Yayoi Kusama 1981’ (on the stretcher)

Pumpkin, 1989

Christie’s Shanghai: 23 September 2023
Estimated: CNY 5,000,000 – 8,000,000
CNY 7,560,000 / USD 1,038,390

YAYOI KUSAMA (b. 1929) (christies.com)

YAYOI KUSAMA (b. 1929)
Pumpkin, 1989
Acrylic and felt pen on canvas
53 x 45.5 cm (20 3/4 x 18 inches)
Signed, titled in Japanese and dated ‘YAYOI KUSAMA Yayoi Kusama 1989’ (on the reverse)

Pumpkin, 2005

Christie’s Hong-Kong: 29 May 2023
Estimated: HKD 10,000,000 – 15,000,000
HKD 12,7177,500 / USD 1,631,398

YAYOI KUSAMA (B. 1929) (christies.com)

YAYOI KUSAMA (B. 1929)
Pumpkin, 2005
Acrylic on canvas
24.5 x 33.3 cm. (9 5/8 x 13 1/8 in.)
signed, titled and dated ‘PUMPKIN 2005 Yayoi Kusama’; signed and titled in Japanese (on the reverse)

Pumpkin, 1990

China Guardian Hong-Kong: 6 April 2023
Estimated: HKD 8,000,000 – 15,000,000
HKD 13,605,000 / USD 1,733,099

Auction | China Guardian (HK) Auctions Co., Ltd. (cguardian.com.hk)

Yayoi Kusama uses bright yellow lines as a light in the night, against a thick black background, which she turns into an infinity-net lattice structure that warmly embraces the body of the pumpkin at the center of the painting. In addition, each section of the grid is slightly different because they are all painted by hand, which creates an organic cycle and a world filled with a sense being alive.

The yellow body of the pumpkin is covered in dense black polka dots and these extend outwards in layers from a central point, imbued with their own regular rhythm. If viewers look closely at the work they find themselves drawn into a world of boundless polka dot expansion and proliferation. The arrangement of these different sized dots and the apparently uniform gaps between them creates order from irregularity and forms a meandering dynamic akin to that of the external infinity-net. It also alludes to the rhythmic sound of the heartbeat or ocean waves, rising and falling in accordance with nature, all the while bedazzling viewers.

Pumpkin incorporates the three classic elements for which Yayoi Kusama is most renowned: Infinity-nets, polka dots and pumpkins.

“My pumpkin paintings are obliterated by the use of black dots and nets.”

Although a “representational” pumpkin is the expressed object, it is also imbued with Kusama’s artistic spirit of “spatial obliteration” and “immersion.”

As such, the pumpkin in this work appears reborn from the infinitely expanding “net’ and “dots,” existing independently from the continuous spreading. Indeed, Kusama uses the opposition and contrast created by the arc line of the dots and the straight lines of the net to highlight the shape of the three dimensional pumpkin. As a result, viewers see a fixed image that “transcends the existence of time” among the back and forth and rhythm of the dynamic infinity-net and dots. Seen from a distance, the large round pumpkin seems to occupy the center of the stage and under that spotlight it exudes a breathtaking sense of poetry and silence.

Where Pumpkin differs from Yayoi Kusama’s more common “round and flat” depictions of pumpkins is that the artist employs a vertical composition, which showcases its rectangular shape. In this context, she takes her original depiction of pumpkins and makes it taller and longer in a way that is reminiscent of portraiture where the subject stands tall and straight before the viewer. The realistic wave-like ridges along the pumpkin seem to extend outwards and grow, as if alive, while the ridges on the bottom appear to firmly grip the ground and absorb sustenance from the earth. At the same time, the elongated body of the pumpkin and stem at the top appear to be striving to grow upwards or attempting to transcend the limited space of the painting and breakthrough the limits imposed by life. This mirrors the artist’s own indomitable spirit, painting works that uniquely tell her own story as through the twists and turns of a rich life journey marked by constant self-transcendence.

 

 

 

As with Yayoi Kusama’s “self portraits” this painting presents a refined and unique style that grows toward the sunlight despite the challenges of life.

Pumpkin (B.H.T.), 1991

SBI Art Auction: 10 March 2023
Estimated: JPY 70,000,000 – 130,000,000
JPY 172,500,000 / USD 1,277,880

YAYOI KUSAMA
Pumpkin (B.H.T.), 1991
Acrylic on canvas
41 x 31.8 cm (16.1 x 12.5 inches)

Pumpkin, 1997

Christie’s Hong-Kong: 30 November 2022
Estimated: HKD 9,000,000 – 15,000,000
HKD 13,650,000 / USD 1,754,995

YAYOI KUSAMA (B. 1929) (christies.com)

YAYOI KUSAMA (B. 1929)
Pumpkin, 1997
Acrylic on canvas
38.2 x 45.6 cm (15×18 inches)
Signed and dated ‘Yayoi Kusama 1997’; titled in Japanese (on the reverse)

Pumpkin, 1989

Phillips London: 14 October 2022
GBP 700,000 – 1,000,000
GBP 1,135,700 / USD 1,273,206

Yayoi Kusama – 20th Century & Contem… Lot 16 October 2022 | Phillips

YAYOI KUSAMA
Pumpkin, 1989
Acrylic on canvas
45 x 38.5 cm (17.7 x 15.1 inches)

Pumpkin, 2000

Sotheby’s Hong-Kong: 6 October 2022
Estimated: HKD 16,000,000 – 22,000,000
HKD 15,379,000 / USD 1,959,208

Yayoi Kusama 草間彌生 | Pumpkin 南瓜 | Contemporary Day Auction | 2022 | Sotheby’s (sothebys.com)

YAYOI KUSAMA
Pumpkin, 2000
Acrylic on canvas laid on panela
37.9 x 45.2 cm (14.9 x 17.7 inches)

Pumpkin, 2004

Seoul Auction: 26 September 2022
KRW 2,301,000,000 / USD 1,608,399
(HAMMER)

YAYOI KUSAMA
Pumpkin, 2004
Acrylic on canvas
53 x 45.5 cm (20.9 x 17.9 inches)

Pumpkin, 2004

Seoul Auction: 22 August 2022
KRW 2,596,000,000 / USD 1,931,424
(HAMMER)

YAYOI KUSAMA
Pumpkin, 2004
Acrylic on canvas
53 x 45.5 cm (20.9 x 17.9 inches)

Pumpkin, 1995

Christie’s Hong-Kong: 26 May 2022
Estimated: HKD 12,000,000 – 22,000,000
HKD 20,850,000 / USD 2,656,220

YAYOI KUSAMA (B. 1929) (christies.com)

YAYOI KUSAMA
Pumpkin, 1995
Acrylic on canvas
31.8 x 41 cm (12.5 x 16.1 inches)
Signed and dated ‘Yayoi Kusama 1995’, titled in Japanese (on the reverse)

Pumpkin, 1989

Christie’s Hong-Kong: 1 December 2021
Estimated: HKD 3,000,000 – 5,000,000
HKD 11,290,000 / USD 1,448,661

YAYOI KUSAMA (B. 1929) (christies.com)

YAYOI KUSAMA
Pumpkin, 1989
Acrylic on canvas
38 x 45.5 cm (15 x 17.9 inches)

Pumpkins, 1987

Christie’s New-York: 1 October 2021
Estimated: USD 1,000,000 – 1,500,000
USD 1,950,000

YAYOI KUSAMA (B. 1929) (christies.com)

YAYOI KUSAMA (B. 1929)
Pumpkins, 1987
Acrylic on canvas
38.1 x 45.4 cm (15 x 17 7/8 inches)
Signed, titled in Japanese and dated ‘Yayoi Kusama 1987’ (on the reverse)

In Pumpkins (1987), a vibrant example of Yayoi Kusama’s undeniably career-defining subject, two dynamically undulating squashes sit atop a conversely flat tessellation of bright white and hot pink netting. A unique example of a lighter palette, as the artist typically demonstrates a preference for dark backgrounds, the flatness of the infinity-net background serves as the ingenious visual foil to the bulbous and brightly-rendered vegetables. Kusama’s signature yellow mingles with the otherwise-two-tone canvas, uniting color and form together to situate this work solidly in the realm of classic Kusama. Toeing the line between figuration and abstraction, the pumpkins take on a hallucinatory effect, with the dots at once hinting at the naturally mottled surface of a pumpkin, just as they unnaturally animate each pumpkin’s form to dance and swell before the viewer’s eyes. In featuring not only the pumpkin motif that has become synonymous with Kusama’s work, but also her infinity nets and all-over polka dots, this singular canvas stands as a true trifecta of Kusama’s most iconic vernacular elements.

Pumpkin, 1992

Sotheby’s Hong-Kong: 18 June 2021
Estimated: HKD 3,000,000 – 5,000,000
HKD 26,795,000 / USD 3,451,718

Yayoi Kusama 草間彌生 | Pumpkin 南瓜 | Contemporary Curated: Asia | JAY CHOU x SOTHEBY’S | Evening Sale | 2021 | Sotheby’s (sothebys.com)

 

YAYOI KUSAMA
Pumpkin, 1992
Acrylic on canvas
45.5 x 53 cm (17.9 x 20.9 inches)

Pumpkin, 1989

Christie’s Hong-Kong: 3 December 2020
Estimated: HKD 4,800,000 – 6,800,000
HKD 15,250,000 / USD 1,967,370

YAYOI KUSAMA (B. 1929), Pumpkin | Christie’s

YAYOI KUSAMA (B. 1929)
Pumpkin, 1989
Acrylic on canvas
46×38 cm (18 1/8 x 15 inches)
Signed and dated ‘yayoi kusama 1989’
Titled in Japanese (on the reverse)

Pumpkin is a kaleidoscope of vibrant colors, dots and nets. Painted in 1989, the painting is a rare example of the artist’s early exploration of the subject’s form, size and character with a seemingly limitless color palette. From Egyptian blue to bright yellow; dark green to pumpkin orange, Kusama creates a feast for the eyes with her extraordinary display of contrasting colors. Unlike the monochromatic pumpkins of Kusama’s later oeuvre, this early work is one of a kind. The painting has been in the same collection for almost 30 years and will be presented for the first time in the market. It will also be the second time a double-pumpkin painting has graced the auction market, making it an incredibly momentous occasion.

Pumpkin, 1981

Christie’s Hong-Kong: 10 July 2020
Estimated: HKD 8,500,000 – 12,000,000
HKD 14,525,000 / USD 1,873,860

Yayoi Kusama (b. 1929), Pumpkin | Christie’s

YAYOI KUSAMA (b. 1929)
Pumpkin, 1981
Acrylic and cloth collage on canvas
60.6 x 50 cm (23 7/8 x 19 5/8 inches)
Signed, dated ‘Yayoi Kusama 1981’ and titled in Japanese (on the reverse)

Painted in 1981, Pumpkin is a glimmering golden squash set against a dazzling hypnotic backdrop and reveals an intimate portrayal of Yayoi Kusama’s hallucinogenic world. Adorned with a bright red polka dot trimming, this painting is a rare and early example of Kusama’s career-defining pumpkins. Canvases depicting this now iconic subject matter and executed in her subversive collage technique emerged in the artist’s oeuvre during the early-1980s, and since that time have now become one of the central motifs of her art.

Pumpkin evokes an illusion of depth through strong lines and contrasting colors. The combination of black-yellow and red-white are both iconic color choices that are strongly associated with Kusama’s prolific oeuvre. Blurring the boundaries between representation and abstraction, Kusama’s iconic polka dot pattern is mottled ever so carefully to evoke the ribbed texture of pumpkin skin. Recalling seventeenth-century still life studies of everyday fruit, vegetables and flowers, Kusama pushes the boundaries of this age-old genre by embracing the ‘pop’ aesthetic of commercialized Japanese art. By reconciling contrasting cultural contexts through a painstaking technique, Kusama demonstrates her obsessive patience and ability to transcend genres.

Pumpkin, 1981

Christie’s Hong-Kong: 26 May 2019
Estimated: HKD 3,000,000 – 4,000,000
HKD 3,125,000 / USD 398,135

YAYOI KUSAMA (JAPAN, B. 1929), Pumpkin | Christie’s

YAYOI KUSAMA (JAPAN, B. 1929)
Pumpkin, 1981
Acrylic and cloth on canvas
41 x 31.8 cm (16 1/8 x 12 1/2 inches)
Signed and dated ‘Yayoi Kusama 1981’
Titled in Japanese (on the reverse)

The jagged border in sky blue with white polka dots guides the viewer’s sight into the image to wander in the intricately intermeshing world composed with polka dots and webbed patterns. Bedecked with a myriad of glistening dots juxtaposed against crystalized formations in red against a black ground, the Pumpkin is bursting with psychedelic vibrancy. This optical effect is a testament of the artist’s attention to detail; each section is attended to with precision and devotion. The result is a light and playful intermingling of patterns and mesmerizing in its rhythmic quality. The hearty pumpkin is a symbol of the artist herself, but also embodies a longstanding investigation into her own self-identity. Kusama’s repetition of black dots and mosaic patterns epitomizes the visual illusions she experienced throughout her life, therefore, Pumpkin is an invitation to share with her the surreal visual journey of her inner world.

 

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Pumpkin (Small) (22×15)

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Pumpkin, 1991

AN EYE FOR COLOUR: WORKS FROM A PRIVATE COLLECTION
Christie’s London: 7 March 2026
Estimated: GBP 250,000 – 350,000
GBP 381,000 / USD 508,980

YAYOI KUSAMA (B. 1929), Pumpkin | Christie’s

YAYOI KUSAMA (B. 1929)
Pumpkin, 1991
Acrylic on canvas
22.6 x 16 cm (8-7/8 x 6-1/4 inches)
Signed, titled in Japanese and dated ‘YAYOI KUSAMA 1991’ (on the reverse)

Hypnotic and vibrant in its yellow and black palette, Pumpkin represents a dazzling convergence of Yayoi Kusama’s most enduring motifs. The work was painted in 1991: the same year she created the seminal Mirror Room (Pumpkin) and just two years before she represented Japan at the 1993 Venice Biennale, becoming only the first female artist to do so. The pumpkin—Kusama’s most beloved subject—has guided her throughout her life as a grounding, comforting presence amid psychological turmoil. Here, it combines with the artist’s signature polka dots and web-like nets, both deeply linked to hallucinations she suffered as a child. Together, these motifs conspire to form a deeply personal portrait of Kusama’s inner world, alive with luminous vitality.

Yayoi Kusama, Mirror Room (Pumpkin), 1991. Hara Museum of Contemporary Art, Tokyo. Artwork: © YAYOI KUSAMA.

By the early 1990s, the pumpkin had become a defining motif within Kusama’s practice. It evolved from her early engagement with flowers and plants, which had informed her work since the early 1950s. As an art student in Kyoto, Kusama drew inspiration from childhood memories. ‘The first time I ever saw a pumpkin was when I was in elementary school and went with my grandfather to visit a big seed-harvesting ground,’ she recalls. Here and there along a path between fields of zinnias, periwinkles, and nasturtiums I caught glimpses of the yellow flowers and baby fruit of pumpkin vines. I stopped to lean in for a closer look, and there it was: a pumpkin the size of a man’s head … It immediately began speaking to me in the most animated manner’ (Y. Kusama, Infinity Net: The Autobiography of Yayoi Kusama, London 2011, p. 75). For Kusama, the pumpkin came to embody a sense humor and warmth, and would take center stage in her practice following her return to Japan from New York. Proliferating across painting, sculpture and installation, it assumed an almost human-like presence in her oeuvre, each iteration imbued with decidedly individual character.

Lucio Fontana, Concetto spaziale, La fine di Dio, 1964. Private Collection. Artwork: © 2026 Lucio Fontana/DACS.

In the present work, the pumpkin’s oblong, ribbed form becomes a site of spiritual equilibrium. It floats atop a patterned background that evokes Kusama’s iconic Infinity Nets. These web-like structures came to define her practice after her arrival in New York in 1958, inextricably tied to her experiences of severe neurosis. They embodied her ‘perpetual labor to create artworks with no beginning and no end; in other words, a truly infinite task to recreate an abiding vision’ (L. Hoptman, Infinity Nets, in Yayoi Kusama, London 2012, p. 62). Within this dense, immersive mesh, the pumpkin emerges as a psychedelic vision, poised on the brink of dissolution. Its surface is covered in polka dots: a motif that originated in Kusama’s earliest hallucinations, and were recorded in her sketchbooks as a young teenager. While rooted in these visions, however, the dots became a powerful uplifting force within her practice, often placed against the ‘negative’ space of the nets in a bid to conjure a sense of infinite proliferation and self-obliteration (Y. Kusama, Infinity Net, ibid., p. 47).

Van Gogh, Sunflowers, 1888. The National Gallery, London. Digital image: © 2026 The National Gallery, London/Scala, Florence.

Kusama’s devotion to pumpkins reflects her broader desire to connect with the natural world—an ambition she shared with Vincent van Gogh. United by mutual suffering, Kusama wrote that his art ‘overflows with humanity, tenacious beauty’, standing as a ‘triumph over the pain of feeling cornered and trapped’ (Y. Kusama, ibid., p. 212). In Pumpkin, the webs and dots become Kusama’s guiding stars in her exploration of the infinite. As she has written, ‘My desire was to predict and measure the infinity of the unbounded universe … How deep was the mystery? Did infinite infinities exist beyond our universe? … One polka dot: a single particle among billions’ (Y. Kusama, ibid., p. 23). Encapsulating the fundamental spirit of Kusama’s practice, Pumpkin stands as both a sanctuary and a shared emblem of endurance and hope.

A Pumpkin (TWX), 2003

Sotheby’s London: 26 June 2024
Estimated: GBP 200,000 – 300,000
GBP 300,000 / USD 380,400

https://www.sothebys.com/en/buy/auction/2024/contemporary-art-day-auction-including-the-ralph-i-goldenberg-collection/a-pumpkin-twx?locale=en

YAYOI KUSAMA (b. 1929)
A Pumpkin (TWX), 2003
Acrylic on canvas
15.4 x 22.5 cm (7 1/2 x 9 inches)
Signed, titled and dated 2003 (on the reverse)

The present work is a manifest to the unequivocally consummate and technically impeccable archetype of Kusama’s oeuvre – a testament to the legendary artist’s astonishing dedication to art and creation. Arguably the most celebrated living female artist today, responsible for revolutionizing Abstraction, Expression, Emotionalism, Pop Art and Minimalism, Kusama’s phenomenal oeuvre transgresses paradigms in all fields and media. Between the 1980s and 1990s, Kusama began to incorporate pumpkins into her dot-motif paintings, drawings and prints, in line with her return to works with richer narrative content as opposed to the stark austere aesthetic of her 1960s infinity nets. Embodying an iconic, charismatic and highly personal motif, Kusama’s pumpkins are as universally emblematic of her oeuvre as the Campbell’s soup can was to Andy Warhol’s. The pumpkin is deeply central to the artist’s core psyche, stemming from a vivid hallucination from her childhood.

“The first time I ever saw a pumpkin was when I was in elementary school and went with my grandfather to visit a big seed-harvesting ground…and there it was: a pumpkin the size of a man’s head… It immediately began speaking to me in a most animated manner.” 

Pumpkin (TWX) presents a green and black rendition of Kusama’s iconic pumpkins. Developed to mature perfection through decades of near-obsessive production and reproduction, each of these distinct elements reflect a different segment within Kusama’s expansive aesthetic philosophy whilst coming together to create a dazzlingly hypnotic visual narrative – one that evokes strong associations with the formal reduction of Minimalism, the repetitive symbolism of Pop and the hypnotic illusions of Op Art. Surreal and fantastical, Kusama’s pumpkin paintings exhibit extraordinary dexterity in skill and execution as well as the single-minded meticulous vision that defines the artist’s career – all the while being deeply personal and indexical, representing a wholly epic extension of Kusama’s legacy in contemporary art and culture.

Functioning as both an allegory and a form of self-portraiture, Kusama’s pumpkin as an uncanny yet benign and nurturing subject exudes peace, serenity, life and vigor. Traditionally a symbol of fertility, the pumpkin also gives one a feeling of abundance, joy, triumph and reward – not unlike the feelings one would experience when reaping one’s harvest after an arduous season of work. In 1993, after almost two decades of a retreated presence from the international art world, Kusama was invited to be the first solo artist and first woman ever to grace the Japanese pavilion at the 45th Venice Biennale. For this momentous occasion she constructed Mirror Room (Pumpkin), consuming a section of the pavilion in an immersive floor-to-ceiling extravaganza of black-on-yellow polka dots. At its center was a dazzling mirrored room filled with pumpkin sculptures, echoing her seminal 1966 Infinity Mirror Room—Love Forever installation whilst grandly introducing the theme of the pumpkin. The pumpkin thus stands as a symbol of triumph for the artist’s international resurgence and rise to global eminence.

Pumpkin, 1991

Seoul Auction: 28 May 2024
Estimate on Request
KRW 660,800,000 / USD 485,030

YAYOI KUSAMA
Pumpkin, 1991
Acrylic on canvas
15.7 x 22.5 cm (6 1/8 x 8 7/8 inches)
Signed, titled and dated on the reverse

Pumpkin (AAP), 2001

Sotheby’s Hong-Kong: 6 April 2024
Estimated: HKD 2,800,000 – 4,200,000
HKD 5,842,000 / USD 746,868

Yayoi Kusama 草間彌生 | Pumpkin (AAP) 南瓜（AAP） | Contemporary Day Auction | 2024 | Sotheby’s (sothebys.com)

YAYOI KUSAMA (b. 1929)
Pumpkin (AAP), 2001
Acrylic on canvas
22.7 x 16 cm (9 x 6 1/4 inches)
Signed, titled in Japanese, and dated 2001 on the reverse

“I adore pumpkins. As my spiritual home since childhood, and with their infinite spirituality, they contribute to the peace of mankind across the world and to the celebration of humanity. And by doing so, they make me feel at peace.”

Pumpkin, 1993

SBI Art Auction: 28 October 2023
Estimated: JPY 50,000,000 – 80,000,000
JPY 80,500,000 / USD 535,325

YAYOI KUSAMA
Pumpkin, 1993
Acrylic on canvas
15.8 x 22.7cm (6 1/4 x 9 inches)
Signed, titled and dated on reverse

Pumpkin, 1992

Christie’s London: 14 October 2023
Estimated: GBP 200,000 – 300,000
GBP 327,600 / USD 397,235

Yayoi Kusama (christies.com)

YAYOI KUSAMA (B. 1929)
Pumpkin, 1992
Acrylic on canvas
15.8 x 22.7 cm (6 1/4 x 9 inches)
Signed, titled in Japanese and dated ‘YAYOI KUSAMA 1992’ (on the reverse)

Executed in 1992, a year before she was selected to represent Japan in the Venice Biennale, Yayoi Kusama’s Pumpkin is a vibrant depiction of her much beloved and career-defining subject. Rendered in her signature, two-tone colour palette of brilliant yellow and black, the ornate fruit gleams with dazzling streams of polka dots. Dilating and contracting in size, the spots are gradated to evoke a mesmeric play of light and shadow across its plump, distinctive furrows, creating a vivid sculptural dimensionality within the painting. In a hypnotic spectacle of pattern that blurs the abstract with the figurative, the pumpkin seems to shimmer, undulate, and intensify before the eye. Just as the Campbell’s soup can became a trademark for Andy Warhol in the 1960s, the pumpkin has become something of a metonym for Kusama. Instantly recognizable, it is a deeply personal motif: ‘Giving off an aura of my sacred mental state’, she has said, ‘they embody a base for the joy of living, a living shared by all of humankind on the earth. It is for the pumpkins that I keep on going’ (Y. Kusama, ‘On Pumpkins’, 2010). Energetic, sprawling and obsessive, the spotted pattern of the present painting evokes the iconic halftone and Ben-Day dots of Roy Lichtenstein’s Pop paintings, while the tessellated background forms visual parallels with the intricate webs of Kusama’s own ‘Infinity Nets’. Fusing together her enduring artistic interests in one canvas, Pumpkin is a spectacular vision of pulsating form and chromatic intensity.

Pumpkin, 1992

Sotheby’s Hong-Kong: 6 October 2023
Estimated: HKD 2,000,000 – 3,000,000
HKD 3,556,000 / USD 454,057

Yayoi Kusama 草間彌生 | Pumpkin 南瓜 | Contemporary Day Auction | 2023 | Sotheby’s (sothebys.com)

YAYOI KUSAMA (b. 1929)
Pumpkin, 1992
Acrylic on canvas
16 x 22.5 cm (6 1/4 x 8 7/8 inches)
Signed, titled in Japanese, and dated 1992 on the reverse

“I adore pumpkins. As my spiritual home since childhood, and with their infinite spirituality, they contribute to the peace of mankind across the world and to the celebration of humanity. And by doing so, they make me feel at peace.”

Pumpkin, 1981

Christie’s Hong-Kong: 24 September 2023
Estimated: HKD 2,000,000 – 4,000,000
HKD 4,410,000 / USD 563,917

YAYOI KUSAMA (B. 1929) (christies.com)

YAYOI KUSAMA (B. 1929)
Pumpkin, 1981
Acrylic on canvas
15.8 x 22.5 cm (6 1/4 x 8 7/8 inches)
Titled in Japanese, signed and dated ‘Yayoi Kusama 1981’ (on the reverse)

Pumpkin, 1995

Christie’s Hong-Kong: 24 September 2023
Estimated: HKD 800,000 – 1,500,000
HKD 4,284,000 / USD 547,805

YAYOI KUSAMA (B. 1929) (christies.com)

YAYOI KUSAMA (B. 1929)
Pumpkin, 1995
Acrylic on canvas
15.8 x 22.7 cm (6 1/4 x 8 7/8 inches)
Titled in Japanese, signed and dated ‘Yayoi Kusama 1995’ (on the reverse)

Pumpkin, 1991

K Auction: 23 August 2023
Estimated: KRW 650,000,000 – 900,000,000
KRW 650,000,000 / USD 488,203 (HAMMER)

YAYOI KUSAMA (b. 1929)
Pumpkin, 1991
Acrylic on canvas
15.8 x 22.7 cm (6 1/8 x 8 7/8 inches)
Signed, titled and dated (on the reverse)

Pumpkin (E.E.E.), 2001

SBI Art Auction: 15 July 2023
Estimated: JPY 50,000,000 – 80,000,000
JPY 60,950,000 / USD 439,147

YAYOI KUSAMA (b. 1929)
Pumpkin (E.E.E.), 2001
Acrylic on canvas
22.7 x 15.8 cm (8 7/8 x 6 1/8 inches)
Signed, titled and dated (on the reverse)

Pumpkin, 1994

Sotheby’s Singapore: 2 July 2023
Estimated: SGD 300,000 – 500,000
SGD 698,500 / USD 516,527

Yayoi Kusama 草間彌生 | Pumpkin 南瓜 | Modern & Contemporary Art | 2023 | Sotheby’s (sothebys.com)

YAYOI KUSAMA (b. 1929)
Pumpkin, 1994
Acrylic on canvas
15.8 x 22.7 cm (6 1/4 x 9 inches)
Signed Yayoi Kusama, titled in Japanese and dated 1994 (on the verso)

Pumpkin, 1990

SHINWA AUCTION: 27 May 2023
Estimated: JPY 40,000,000 – 60,000,000
JPY 75,900,000 / USD 539,774

YAYOI KUSAMA (B. 1929)
Pumpkin, 1990
Acrylic on canvas
15.8 x 22.7 cm (6.2 x 8.9 inches)
Signed, titled and dated on verso

Pumpkin, 1981

Christie’s online: 21 April 2023
Estimated: HKD 3,300,000 – 5,500,000
HKD 4,158,000 / USD 529,836 

YAYOI KUSAMA (B. 1929), Pumpkin | Christie’s (christies.com)

YAYOI KUSAMA (B. 1929)
Pumpkin, 1981
Acrylic on canvas
16×22 cm (6 1/4 x 8 5/8 inches)
Signed twice, titled in Japanese and dated ‘1981 Yayoi Kusama’ (on the reverse)

Pumpkin, 1997

Sotheby’s Hong-Kong: 6 April 2023
Estimated: HKD 2,200,000 – 3,200,000
HKD 6,985,000 / USD 889,820

Yayoi Kusama 草間彌生 | Pumpkin 南瓜 | Contemporary Day Auction | 2023 | Sotheby’s (sothebys.com)

YAYOI KUSAMA (b. 1929)
Pumpkin, 1997
Acrylic on canvas
22 x 27.3 cm (8 5/8 x 10 3/4 inches)
Signed, titled and dated 1997 on the reverse

Executed in the artist’s signature black and yellow color palette, Pumpkin exudes a luminous quality, the bright yellow cutting through the shadowy blackness. Pulsating with the fervency of Kusama’s practise, the composition radiates with carefully applied dots which run down the center of the bulbous pumpkin’s skin, the largest dots appearing at the most pronounced points of the vegetable as smaller dots disappear into its creases. Each glisteningly black circle shines and vibrates, with each meticulously crafted row of striated dots slithering fluidly down the body of the pumpkin. Recalling the artist’s large Infinity Room installations, the pattern that repeats on the surface of the pumpkin allows Kusama to create the appearance of depth whilst only utilizing two colors.

Pumpkin, 1991

Phillips Hong-Kong: 31 March 2023
Estimated: HKD 3,500,000 – 5,500,000
HKD 4,445,000 / USD 566,249

Yayoi Kusama – 20th Century & Contemp… Lot 135 March 2023 | Phillips

YAYOI KUSAMA
Pumpkin, 1991
Acrylic on canvas
15.8 x 22.7 cm (6 1/4 x 8 7/8 inches)
Signed, titled and dated ‘YAYOI KUSAMA 1991 “Pumpkin” [in Kanji]’ on the reverse

The present bicolored red and black piece, painted in 1991, represents a short, plump and chubby pumpkin, whose ribs are covered in Kusama’s signature polka-dots. The peduncle stands on top of the pumpkin’s ribs, darker than the rest of the fruit, thick and straight. The background consists of a repetitive pattern of angular red lines whose intersection forms an irregular and chaotic reticle of triangles, a unique and hypnotic version of Kusama’s Infinity Nets iconic design.

Pumpkin, 1990

Christie’s Hong-Kong: 30 November 2022
Estimated: HKD 1,800,000 – 2,800,000
HKD 5,670,000 / USD 728,997

YAYOI KUSAMA (B. 1929) (christies.com)

YAYOI KUSAMA (B. 1929)
Pumpkin, 1990
Acrylic on canvas
15.8 x 22.7 cm (6 1/4 x 8 7/8 inches)
Signed and dated ‘YAYOI KUSAMA 1990’ and titled in Japanese (on the reverse)

Pumpkin, 1989

SBI Art Auction: 28 May 2022
Estimated: JPY 30,000,000 – 50,000,000
JPY 82,800,000 / USD 651,336

YAYOI KUSAMA
Pumpkin, 1989
Acrylic on canvas
15.8 x 22.7 cm (6.2 x 8.9 inches)
Signed, titled and dated on reverse

Pumpkin (AAA), 2001

SBI Art Auction: 12 March 2022
Estimated: JPY 30,000,000 – 50,000,000
JPY 77,050,000 / USD 656,696

YAYOI KUSAMA
Pumpkin (AAA), 2001
Acrylic on canvas
15.8 x 22.7 cm (6.2 x 8.9 inches)
Signed, titled and dated on reverse

Pumpkin, 2001

Phillips London: 4 March 2022
Estimated: GBP 200,000 – 300,000
GBP 516,600

Yayoi Kusama – 20th Century & Contemp… Lot 125 March 2022 | Phillips

Pumpkin [TOWSSO], 2006

Christie’s London: 1 March 2022
Estimated: GBP 200,000 – 300,000
GBP 831,600 / USD 1,111,616

YAYOI KUSAMA (B. 1929) (christies.com)

YAYOI KUSAMA
Pumpkin [TOWSSO], 2006
Acrylic on canvas
22.3 x 27.4 cm (8.7 x 10.7 inches)

Pumpkin, 1991

Seoul Auction: 22 February 2022
Estimate on Request
KRW 731,600,000 / USD 613,135

YAYOI KUSAMA
Pumpkin, 1991
Acrylic on canvas
22.7 x 15.8 cm (8.9 x 6.2 inches)
Signed, titled and dated on reverse

Pumpkin, 2003

Seoul Auction: 25 January 2022
Estimated: KRW 950,000,000 – 1,100,000,000
KRW 1,046,500,000 / USD 873,019

YAYOI KUSAMA
Pumpkin, 2003
Acrylic on canvas
22 x 27.3 cm (8.7 x 10.7 inches)
Signed, dated and titled on reverse

Pumpkin (AAY), 2001

Christie’s Hong-Kong: 2 December 2021
Estimated: HKD 800,000 – 1,200,000
HKD 3,875,000 / USD 497,215

YAYOI KUSAMA (B. 1929) (christies.com)

YAYOI KUSAMA (B. 1929)
Pumpkin (AAY), 2001
Acrylic on canvas
16 x 22.7 cm (6 1/4 x 8 7/8 inches)
Signed and dated ‘YAYOI KUSAMA 2001’, titled in Japanese (on the reverse)

Pumpkin, 1991

Seoul Auction: 23 November 2021
Estimated: KRW 400,000,000 – 500,000,000
KRW 632,500,000 / USD 531,203

YAYOI KUSAMA (B. 1929)
Pumpkin, 1991
Acrylic on canvas
15.8 x 22.7 cm (6.2 x 8.9 inches)
Signed, titled and dated on reverse

Pumpkin, 1990

China Guardian Hong-Kong: 23 April 2021
Estimated: HKD 1,500,000 – 2,500,000
HKD 2,950,000 / USD 380,115

Auction | China Guardian (HK) Auctions Co., Ltd. (cguardian.com.hk)

In Pumpkin, created in 1990,  with her classic composition, Kusama presents a plump, dazzling yellow pumpkin with black dots in the center of the frame. The unique black polka dots are carefully arranged in orders with varying sizes. Through the closed loop of small to large dots, she enables the viewers to feel the spatial volume of the pumpkin. The boundary between realistic and abstract forms is blurred as well. The yellow body continues to expand to the surroundings, forming an interminable net structure with a scale-like texture, while the contrast between red and black enhances the full shape of the yellow body. The tooth tips on the left and right sides of the screen facing the inside of the canvas converge the viewer’s eyes to the center in the polka dot texture. The thick melon stems goes upward vertically, giving the screen a longitudinal momentum, contending with the forces of horizontal attacks, giving Pumpkin an extraordinarily realistic ambience.

 

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Pumpkin (XSmall) (14×18)

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Pumpkin A, B, C, 2003

Christie’s London: 14 October 2022
Estimated: GBP 250,000 – 350,000
GBP 453,600 / USD 512,641

YAYOI KUSAMA (B. 1929) (christies.com)

YAYOI KUSAMA
Pumpkin A, B, C, 2003
Acrylic on canvas
14×18 cm (5 1/2 x 7 1/8 inches)

Painted in 2003, Pumpkin A, B, C, is a joyful example of Yayoi Kusama’s most beloved image. Rendered in crimson and white, the fruit swells outward, ripe and weighty; across its protuberant, voluminous flesh, Kusama has dotted a seemingly infinite number of immaculate red circles. The artist’s fascination with pumpkins began when she was a child in Matsumoto, Japan. Her parents owned a seed farm and nursery, and she spent much of her upbringing playing amongst the lush vegetation.

Pumpkin, 1990

Sotheby’s London: 30 June 2022
Estimated: GBP 200,000 – 300,000
GBP 478,800 / USD 582,198

Pumpkin | Modern & Contemporary Day Auction | 2022 | Sotheby’s (sothebys.com)

YAYOI KUSAMA (b. 1929)
Pumpkin, 1990
Acrylic and pencil on canvas
18×14 cm (7 x 5 1/2 inches)
Signed, titled and dated 1990 on the reverse

Rendered in a shade of golden-orange, Kusama deliberately painted Pumpkin in the gourd’s essential color with a direct semblance to a sweet, tender and luscious kabocha. The work is covered in precisely painted polka dots and set against a wall of tessellated nets – all of which are wholly iconic and era-defining features of the artist’s style. Developed to mature perfection through decades of near-obsessive production and reproduction, each of these distinct elements of the piece reflect a different segment within Kusama’s expansive aesthetic philosophy whilst coming together to create a dazzlingly hypnotic visual narrative – one that evokes strong associations with the formal reduction of Minimalism, the repetitive symbolism of Pop and the hypnotic illusions of Op Art. Surreal and fantastical, Kusama’s pumpkin paintings exhibit extraordinary dexterity in skill and execution as well as the single-minded meticulous vision that defines the artist’s career – all the while being deeply personal and indexical, representing a wholly epic extension of Kusama’s legacy in contemporary art and culture.

Functioning as both an allegory and a form of self-portraiture, Kusama’s pumpkin as an uncanny yet benign and nurturing subject exudes peace, serenity, life and vigor. Traditionally a symbol of fertility, the pumpkin also gives one a feeling of abundance, joy, triumph and reward – not unlike the feelings one would experience when reaping one’s harvest after an arduous season of work. In 1993, after almost two decades of a retreated presence from the international art world, Kusama was invited to be the first solo artist and first woman ever to grace the Japanese pavilion at the 45th Venice Biennale. For this momentous occasion she constructed Mirror Room (Pumpkin), consuming a section of the pavilion in an immersive floor-to-ceiling extravaganza of black-on-yellow polka dots. At its center was a dazzling mirrored room filled with pumpkin sculptures, echoing her seminal 1966 Infinity Mirror Room—Love Forever installation whilst grandly introducing the theme of the pumpkin. The pumpkin thus stands as a symbol of triumph for the artist’s international resurgence and rise to global eminence.

Pumpkin, 2001

SBI Art Auction: 28 May 2022
Estimated: JPY 20,000,000 – 30,000,000
JPY 80,500,000 / USD 633,244

YAYOI KUSAMA
Pumpkin, 2001
Acrylic on canvas
14×18 cm (5 1/2 x 7 1/8 inches)
Signed, titled and dated on reverse

Pumpkin, 1991

Bonhams New-York: 19 May 2022
Estimated: USD 250,000 – 350,000
USD 466,575

Bonhams : YAYOI KUSAMA (B. 1929) Pumpkin 1991

Pumpkin, 1989

Christie’s New-York: 12 May 2022
Estimated: USD 250,000 – 350,000
USD 529,200

YAYOI KUSAMA (B. 1929) (christies.com)

YAYOI KUSAMA
Pumpkin, 1989
Acrylic on canvas
18.4 x 14.3 cm (7.2 x 5.6 inches)

Pumpkin, 1993

Seoul Auction: 26 October 2021
Estimated: KRW 350,000,000 – 450,000,000
KRW 598,000,000 / USD 513,072

YAYOI KUSAMA (B. 1929)
Pumpkin, 1993
Acrylic on canvas
18.1 x 13.8 cm (7.1 x 5.4 inches)
Signed, titled and dated on reverse

 

 

PART III: PUMPKIN PAINTINGS BY COLOR

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Pumpkin (Red)

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Red Pumpkin, 1989

Poly Auction Hong-Kong: 7 April 2024
Estimated: HKD 7,500,000 – 8,500,000
JPY 18,000,000 / USD 2,301,202

Red Pumpkin｜Poly Auction Hong Kong

YAYOI KUSAMA
Red Pumpkin, 1989
Acrylic on canvas
38 x 45.5 cm (15×18 inches)
Titled in Japanese; signed and dated ‘yayoi Kusama 1989’ (on the reverse)

Pumpkin (AAP), 2001

Sotheby’s Hong-Kong: 6 April 2024
Estimated: HKD 2,800,000 – 4,200,000
HKD 5,842,000 / USD 746,868

Yayoi Kusama 草間彌生 | Pumpkin (AAP) 南瓜（AAP） | Contemporary Day Auction | 2024 | Sotheby’s (sothebys.com)

YAYOI KUSAMA (b. 1929)
Pumpkin (AAP), 2001
Acrylic on canvas
22.7 x 16 cm (9 x 6 1/4 inches)
Signed, titled in Japanese, and dated 2001 on the reverse

Pumpkin, 1982

Phillips Hong-Kong: 1 June 2024
Estimated: HKD 3,200,000 – 4,200,000
HKD 4,699,000 / USD 601,588

Yayoi Kusama – Modern & Contemporary A… Lot 137 June 2024 | Phillips

Pumpkin (AAY), 2001

Seoul Auction: 27 February 2024
Estimated: KRW 650,000,000 – 900,000,000
KRW 708,000,000 / USD 531,707

YAYOI KUSAMA
Pumpkin (AAY), 2001
Acrylic on canvas
22.7 x 16 cm (9 x 6.3 inches)
Signed, dated and titled on reverse

PUMPKIN [FBAN], 2013

Christie’s Hong-Kong: 28 November 2023
Estimated: HKD 38,000,000 – 55,000,000
HKD 46,355,000 / USD 5,951,233

YAYOI KUSAMA (B. 1929), PUMPKIN [FBAN] | Christie’s (christies.com)

YAYOI KUSAMA (B. 1929)
PUMPKIN [FBAN], 2013
Acrylic on canvas
130.3 x 161.5 cm (51 1/4 x 63 1/2 inches)
Signed, titled and dated ‘FBAN PUMPKIN YAYOI KUSAMA 2013’ (on the reverse)

Pumpkin, 2000

Christie’s Hong-Kong: 28 May 2023
Estimated: HKD 28,000,000 – 38,000,000
HKD 40,305,000 / USD 5,145,407

YAYOI KUSAMA (B. 1929)
Pumpkin, 2000
Acrylic on canvas
73 x 90.8 cm (28 3/4 x 35 3/4 in)
Titled in Japanese, signed and dated ‘YAYOI KUSAMA 2000’ (on the reverse)

Pumpkin, 2005

Poly Auction Hong-Kong: 5 April 2023
Estimated: HKD 25,000,000 – 35,000,000
HKD 30,000,000 / USD 3,821,730

YAYOI KUSAMA
Pumpkin, 2005
Acrylic on canvas
91.5 x 73.2 cm (36 xx 28.8 inches)
Signed, dated and titled on the reverse

Pumpkin, 1995

Christie’s Hong-Kong: 26 May 2022
Estimated: HKD 12,000,000 – 22,000,000
HKD 20,850,000 / USD 2,656,220

YAYOI KUSAMA
Pumpkin, 1995
Acrylic on canvas
31.8 x 41 cm (12.5 x 16.1 inches)
Signed and dated ‘Yayoi Kusama 1995’, titled in Japanese (on the reverse)

Pumpkin, 2004

Seoul Auction: 23 August 2022
Estimated: KRW 1,900,000,000 – 3,000,000,000
KRW 2,596,000,000 / USD 1,972,248

YAYOI KUSAMA
Pumpkin, 2004
Acrylic on canvas
53 x 45.5 cm (20.9 x 17.9 inches)

Pumpkin, 2003

Seoul Auction: 25 January 2022
Estimated: KRW 950,000,000 – 1,100,000,000
KRW 1,046,500,000 / USD 873,019

YAYOI KUSAMA
Pumpkin, 2003
Acrylic on canvas
22 x 27.3 cm (8.7 x 10.7 inches)
Signed, dated and titled on reverse

Pumpkin, 1982

Seoul Auction: 28 June 2022
Estimated: KRW 800,000,000 – 1,200,000,000
KRW 944,000,000 / USD 744,146

YAYOI KUSAMA
Pumpkin, 1982
Acrylic and collage on canvas
15.8 x 22.9 cm (6 1/8 x 9 inches)
Signed, dated and titled on reverse

Pumpkin, 1991

Seoul Auction: 26 July 2022
Estimated: KRW 780,000,000 – 1,200,000,000
KRW 920,400,000 / USD 713,700

YAYOI KUSAMA
Pumpkin, 1991
Acrylic on canvas
22.7 x 15.5 cm (9 x 6 1/8 inches)
Signed, titled and dated on the reverse

Pumpkin, 2001

SBI Art Auction: 28 May 2022
Estimated: JPY 20,000,000 – 30,000,000
JPY 80,500,000 / USD 633,244

YAYOI KUSAMA
Pumpkin, 2001
Acrylic on canvas
14×18 cm (5 1/2 x 7 1/8 inches)
Signed, titled and dated on reverse

Pumpkin (AAA), 2001

SBI Art Auction: 12 March 2022
Estimated: JPY 30,000,000 – 50,000,000
JPY 77,050,000 / USD 656,696

YAYOI KUSAMA
Pumpkin (AAA), 2001
Acrylic on canvas
15.8 x 22.7 cm (6.2 x 8.9 inches)
Signed, titled and dated on reverse

Pumpkin A, B, C, 2003

Christie’s London: 14 October 2022
Estimated: GBP 250,000 – 350,000
GBP 453,600 / USD 508,520

YAYOI KUSAMA
Pumpkin A, B, C, 2003
Acrylic on canvas
14×18 cm (5 1/2 x 7 1/8 inches)

Pumpkin, 1992

Sotheby’s Hong-Kong: 18 June 2021
Estimated: HKD 3,000,000 – 5,000,000
HKD 26,795,000 / USD 3,451,718

YAYOI KUSAMA
Pumpkin, 1992
Acrylic on canvas
45.5 x 53 cm (17.9 x 20.9 inches)

Pumpkin, 1991

Seoul Auction: 23 November 2021
Estimated: KRW 400,000,000 – 500,000,000
KRW 632,500,000 / USD 531,205

 

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Pumpkin (Blue)

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PUMPKIN [TOWHT] BLUE, 2005

Christie’s Shanghai: 7 November 2024
Estimated: CNY 10,000,000 – 15,000,000
CNY 15,425,000 / USD 2,166,764

YAYOI KUSAMA (B. 1929), PUMPKIN [TOWHT] BLUE | Christie’s

YAYOI KUSAMA (B. 1929)
PUMPKIN [TOWHT] BLUE, 2005
Acrylic on canvas
45.5 x 53 cm (17 7/8 x 20 7/8 inches)
Signed, titled and dated ‘yayoi kusama 2005 PUMPKIN TOWHT BLUE’ (on the reverse)

Pumpkin, 1990

SHINWA AUCTION: 27 May 2023
Estimated: JPY 40,000,000 – 60,000,000
JPY 75,900,000 / USD 539,774

YAYOI KUSAMA (B. 1929)
Pumpkin, 1990
Acrylic on canvas
15.8 x 22.7 cm (6.2 x 8.9 inches)
Signed, titled and dated on verso

Pumpkin, 1992

Sotheby’s Hong-Kong: 6 October 2023
Estimated: HKD 2,000,000 – 3,000,000
HKD 3,556,000 / USD 454,057

YAYOI KUSAMA (b. 1929)
Pumpkin, 1992
Acrylic on canvas
16 x 22.5 cm (6 1/4 x 8 7/8 inches)
Signed, titled in Japanese, and dated 1992 on the reverse

 

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Pumpkin (Green)

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Pumpkin, 2000

SBI Art Auction: 26 October 2024
Estimated: JPY 80,000,000 – 140,000,000
JPY 109,250,000 / USD 719,318

RESULTS｜SBI Art Auction

YAYOI KUSAMA
Pumpkin, 2000
Acrylic on canvas
24.2 × 33.3 cm (9 1/2 x 13 1/8 inches)
Signed, titled and dated on the reverse

A Pumpkin (TWX), 2003

Sotheby’s London: 26 June 2024
Estimated: GBP 200,000 – 300,000
GBP 300,000 / USD 380,400

https://www.sothebys.com/en/buy/auction/2024/contemporary-art-day-auction-including-the-ralph-i-goldenberg-collection/a-pumpkin-twx?locale=en

YAYOI KUSAMA (b. 1929)
A Pumpkin (TWX), 2003
Acrylic on canvas
15.4 x 22.5 cm (7 1/2 x 9 inches)
Signed, titled and dated 2003 (on the reverse)

Pumpkin, 2004

Seoul Auction: 27 September 2022
Estimated: KRW 1,900,000,000 – 3,000,000,000
KRW 2,301,000,000 / USD 1,640,867

YAYOI KUSAMA
Pumpkin, 2004
Acrylic on canvas
53 x 45.5 cm (20.9 x 17.9 inches)

Pumpkin, 1991

Bonhams New-York: 19 May 2022
Estimated: USD 250,000 – 350,000
USD 466,575

Bonhams : YAYOI KUSAMA (B. 1929) Pumpkin 1991

 

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Pumpkin (Black)

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Pumpkin, 1991

Seoul Auction: 28 May 2024
Estimate on Request
KRW 660,800,000 / USD 485,030

YAYOI KUSAMA
Pumpkin, 1991
Acrylic on canvas
15.7 x 22.5 cm (6 1/8 x 8 7/8 inches)
Signed, titled and dated on the reverse

Pumpkin, 1991

Pumpkin, 1981

Christie’s online: 21 April 2023
Estimated: HKD 3,300,000 – 5,500,000
HKD 4,158,000 / USD 529,836 

YAYOI KUSAMA (B. 1929)
Pumpkin, 1981
Acrylic on canvas
16×22 cm (6 1/4 x 8 5/8 inches)
Signed twice, titled in Japanese and dated ‘1981 Yayoi Kusama’ (on the reverse)

Pumpkin, 1981

SBI Art Auction: 27 January 2023
Estimated: JPY 35,000,000 – 55,000,000
JPY 64,400,000 / USD 495,903

RESULTS｜SBI Art Auction

YAYOI KUSAMA
Pumpkin, 1981
Acrylic on canvas
15.8 × 22.7 cm (6 1/4 x 8 7/8 inches)
Signed, titled and dated on the reverse

Pumpkin, 1991

Seoul Auction: 25 October 2022
Estimated: KRW 600,000,000 – 900,000,000
KRW 719,800,000 / USD 512,916

YAYOI KUSAMA
Pumpkin, 1991
Acrylic on canvas
15.8 x 22.7 cm (6 1/8 x 9 inches)
Signed, titled and dated on the reverse