Pumpkin
Medium: Screen-print in colors on Izumi paper
[9 screens, 9 colors, 9 runs]
Year: 1990
Image: 53.5 x 45 cm (21.1 x 17.7 inches)
Sheet: 62.8 x 54 cm (24.7 x 21.3 inches)
Edition: 100
Artist’s Proofs: 10 AP
Printer’s Proofs: 3 PP
Printer: Okabe Tokuzo, Tokyo
Literature: ABE 142
Yayoi Kusama Prints 1979-2017, ABE PUBLISHING LTD, Number 142, Illustrated page 93
Signed, dated, and numbered in pencil on lower edge
Created in 1990, Pumpkin belongs to a moment when Yayoi Kusama consolidates the pumpkin as a central form in her practice. Rather than treating it as a naturalistic subject, she uses it as a structured surface through which repetition, rhythm, and visual balance can unfold. The work is realized as a screenprint, a medium that allows Kusama to deploy color with precision and clarity. Unlike many of her pumpkin images, often dominated by a single hue such as yellow or red, this print is notable for its polychromatic construction. Bands of warm yellows, deep reds, cool blues, and muted greens are distributed across the segmented body of the pumpkin, each area articulated by densely arranged polka dots. The variations in color and dot density follow the natural divisions of the form while preserving a strong internal coherence.
A white contour isolates the pumpkin from its surroundings, emphasizing its silhouette and reinforcing its autonomy within the composition. Behind it, a network of fine, irregular lines forms a contrasting background that suggests continuity and extension beyond the frame. The interplay between the multicolored, carefully ordered pumpkin and the more open, all-over pattern of the background creates a measured visual dialogue. In this work, the choice of multiple colors introduces a sense of movement and internal complexity that distinguishes it from Kusama’s more monochrome pumpkin prints. The pumpkin becomes a site where different chromatic systems coexist, offering a nuanced reading of repetition not as uniformity, but as variation within a defined structure.
Auction Results
Mainichi Auction: 13 December 2025
Estimated: JPY 3,000,000 – 5,000,000
JPY 3,910,000 / USD 25,095
YAYOI KUSAMA
Pumpkin (ABE 142), 1990
Screenprint
Signed
From the edition of 100
Mainichi Auction: 29 April 2023
Estimated: JPY 3,000,000 – 4,000,000
JPY 6,210,000 / USD 45,580
YAYOI KUSAMA
Pumpkin (ABE 142), 1990
Screenprint
Signed
From the edition of 100
SBI Art Auction: 15 July 2022
Estimated: JPY 3,500,000 – 5,500,000
JPY 7,245,000 / USD 52,130
AUCTION RECORD FOR PUMPKIN
YAYOI KUSAMA
Pumpkin (Kusama 142), 1990
Screenprint
Signed, titled, dated and numbered from the edition of 100
Mainichi Auction: 9 April 2021
Estimated: JPY 2,000,000 – 3,000,000
JPY 4,600,000 (Hammer)
JPY 5,359,000 / USD 48,875
YAYOI KUSAMA
Pumpkin (ABE 142), 1990
Screenprint
Signed
From the edition of 100
Sotheby’s Hong-Kong: 1 October 2018
Estimated: HKD 100,000 – 150,000
HKD 237,500 / USD 30,340
YAYOI KUSAMA
Pumpkin, 1990
Screenprint
Signed in English, titled in Japanese, dated 1990 and numbered 56/100
Christie’s Hong-Kong: 26 May 2018
Estimated: HKD 100,000 – 200,000
HKD 300,000 / USD 38,240
YAYOI KUSAMA (JAPAN, B.1929)
Pumpkin, 1990
Screen-print
Inscribed ‘AP’ and titled in Japanese (lower left)
Dated ‘1990’ (lower center) and signed ‘yayoi Kusama’ (lower right)