World · Asia-Pacific Updated 9 days ago 2 publishers reporting
Renowned Japanese avant‑garde artist Yayoi Kusama, the “polka‑dot queen”, dies at 97
News Brief
Yayoi Kusama, Japan’s internationally celebrated avant‑garde artist famed for her signature polka‑dot and infinity motifs, died at a Tokyo hospital on 14 August 2026 at the age of 97, according to a statement from her company. The announcement, reported by both The Hindu and France 24, highlighted her lifelong devotion to visual art, performance, fiction and poetry, noting that she continued to paint until her final days. Born in 1929 as the youngest child of a wealthy family, Kusama began creating her distinctive dot patterns at age ten and later moved to the United States in the late 1950s, where she rose to prominence in New York’s avant‑garde scene before returning to Japan in the 1970s, where she lived and worked in a psychiatric hospital for the remainder of her life.
Key points
Kusama’s death was confirmed by her company on 27 August 2026, with the date of passing given as 14 August 2026 in a Tokyo hospital.
She was 97 years old, having been born in 1929 as the youngest daughter of a wealthy family.
Her artistic practice spanned visual art, performance, fiction and poetry, and she remained active as a painter until shortly before her death.
Kusama’s career included a breakthrough in New York’s 1960s avant‑garde scene and a later return to Japan, where she lived and worked in a psychiatric hospital.
She is widely known as the “polka‑dot queen” for her iconic dotted and net‑pattern works, as well as immersive installations and pumpkin sculptures.
What sources agree on
Yayoi Kusama died on 14 August 2026 at a hospital in Tokyo.
She was 97 years old at the time of her death.
Kusama was internationally recognized as a pioneering avant‑garde artist.
Her creative output included visual art, performance, fiction and poetry.
She continued painting up to her final days.
Born in 1929, she began producing her signature dot motifs at age ten.
Still unclear
No material disagreement was identified in the supplied reports.
Source & attribution
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2 independent reports
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France 24Europe
Original headline
Japan's 'polka dot queen' artist Yayoi Kusama dies aged 97
