"The Polka Dot Princess", 83-year-old artist Yayoi Kusama moved back to New York after her 40years in mental hospital.

The Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama, who was dubbed "the Polka Dot Princess", will have a 15-year retrospective show in the Whitney Museum of American Art, which is the major show of herdisplay in six city venues.

"Kusama became an artist in New York," said Whitney curator David Kiehl. "She pushed a lot ofbuttons. Her work took on a form that could only have happened in New York because she hadfreedom here. The New York period is crucial, and the work that follows is derived from languageshe developed here. I think the show is going to be an eye-opener for a lot of people."

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Kusama first moved to New York in 1958. She became an "avant-garde hippie shaman and tabloidfixture" and was known of painting polka dots on naked people. As a result, she had to go back toTokyo and stayed in a mental hospital for 40 years.

Now she marches back to the popular recognition. The Whitney Museum is holding a celebrationof Kusama's six-decade career, while a line of Kusama-inspired luxury goods are released fromLouis Vuitton.