Kusama in her New York studio, ca. 1958–59 © YAYOI KUSAMA

1929 Yayoi Kusama was born to a conservative family that made their living cultivating plant seeds in Matsumoto, Japan, where, she grew up surrounded by flower farms.

1939 Around the age of 10, she began using her signature polka dots in her drawings, followed by watercolors, pastels, and oils.

1958 She moved to New York and began working on her Infinity Nets, large monochrome canvases obsessively covered by woven patterns.