Yayoi Kusama is recognised as one of the most important artists of her time, with an international career spanning more than half a century. Born in 1929, she was raised in Matsumoto in central Japan where her family owned a large seed nursery. It was here that Kusama began painting and drawing at age ten. Throughout her career, Kusama has returned to the organic motifs she depicted as a child growing up among fields of flowers and pumpkins.