Yoshitomo Nara was born in 1959 in Aomori Prefecture, Japan. After graduating from Aichi Prefectural University of the Arts, he worked as an art teacher in high school while attending graduate school. After obtaining his master’s degree in 1987, he enrolled at Dusseldorf Art Academy in Germany for further education, and ended up spending 12 years in Europe. In 1998, he moved to the USA, where he spent three months as a visiting professor at UCLA. In 2000, he returned to Japan, where he continues to live. His works have attracted global collectors across age, gender, and nationality. Nara’s works always feature traces of his lonely childhood, starting from his earliest composite and wooden sculptures of his college years. He often uses children and animals as the topic for his works. Most of his works from the early 1990s portray a single child, with dog sculptures beginning to appear around 1994-1995. In 1999, he created his most iconic series: the Little Pilgrim, or Night Walking series, which marked a crucial shift in Nara’s career. With the diversity of his works always challenging new heights, his sculptures have attracted particular attention from the West. He has also continuously received invitations to attend overseas exhibitions.

The Little Pilgrim series was first released in 1999 at Setagaya Art Museum, Tokyo. In the exhibition held in 2000 at Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, an installation consisting of colorful little pilgrims was shown under the title Walk On, proving the importance of the series. In 2002, the little pilgrims made another appearance in the Lullaby Supermarket theme shown in Germany, which further boosted the artist’s level of international fame. This particular auction item was created in 2002. The work features a white and a chocolate-colored version. For each version has a total of 20. The special background made it a rare and valuable piece. The Little Pilgrim wears a robe, with his eyes closed and a pure expression on his face. His head is slightly raised and his arms lifted forward as if he is sleepwalking. By using the figures of colorful young children, the seriousness and religious nature of pilgrimage is toned down. At the time of this creation, Nara was shifting from a punk rock style to the softer, gentler world of fairy tales. With the use of fiberglass materials, he adds a smooth and light sense of playfulness to his works.