Japanese avant-garde artist Yayoi Kusama, known worldwide as the polka dot queen, died at a Tokyo hospital on 14 August 2026 at the age of 97; her death was announced on 27 August 2026.

Born in Matsumoto on 22 March 1929, she moved to New York in 1957 and became a central figure in the 1960s avant-garde and pop art scene before returning to Japan in the 1970s.

She is best known for polka-dot motifs, repetitive patterns, pumpkin sculptures and the immersive installations called Infinity Mirror Rooms.

From 1977 until her death she lived voluntarily in a Tokyo psychiatric hospital while continuing to paint and create daily.

A supporting foundation attributed her death to multiple organ failure; the Yayoi Kusama Museum in Tokyo said its exhibition KUSAMA's POP would run to 30 August 2026.