{{Short description|American photographer (1932–2024)}} {{Infobox person | name = Paul Caponigro | image = | birth_name = Paul John Jerome Caponigro | birth_date = {{birth date|1932|12|7}} | birth_place = [[Boston]], [[Massachusetts]], U.S. | death_date = {{death date and age|2024|11|10|1932|12|7}} | death_place = [[Cushing, Maine]], U.S. | occupation = Photographer, writer, pianist | years_active = 1950s&ndash;2024 | education = [[Boston University]]<br>[[San Francisco Art Institute|California School of Fine Arts]] | spouse = {{marriage|Eleanor Morris||1976|reason=divorced}} | children = [[John Paul Caponigro|John Paul]] }} '''Paul John Jerome Caponigro''' (December 7, 1932 – November 10, 2024) was an American photographer, writer and pianist. His best known photographs are ''Running White Deer'' and ''Galaxy Apple.'' His subject matter includes [[landscape]] and [[still life]], taking an interest in natural forms. He was best known for his landscape works and for the mystical and spiritual qualities of his work.

In 2001, Caponigro was awarded the [[Royal Photographic Society]]'s Centenary Medal and Honorary Fellowship (HonFRPS) in recognition of a sustained, significant contribution to the art of photography.<ref name="rps">{{Cite web|url=http://www.rps.org/Error.aspx?item=%2fannual-awards%2fcentenary-medal&user=extranet%5cAnonymous&site=website|title=Error - RPS|website=www.rps.org}}</ref> His work is held in the collections of the [[Metropolitan Museum of Art]],<ref name="metmuseum">{{Cite web |title=Results for "Paul Caponigro" - The Metropolitan Museum of Art |url=https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search?q=Paul+Caponigro&sortBy=Relevance |access-date=2024-11-26 |website=www.metmuseum.org |language=en}}</ref> [[Museum of Fine Arts, Houston]],<ref name="mfah">{{Cite web |title=Works {{!}} Paul Caponigro {{!}} People {{!}} The MFAH Collections |url=https://emuseum.mfah.org/people/1373/paul-caponigro/objects |access-date=2024-11-26 |website=mfah.org}}</ref> [[Museum of Modern Art]],<ref name="moma">{{cite web | title=Paul Caponigro &#124; MoMA | url=https://www.moma.org/artists/961 }}</ref> and [[San Francisco Museum of Modern Art]].<ref name="sfmoma">{{Cite web |title=Caponigro, Paul |url=https://www.sfmoma.org/artist/Paul_Caponigro/ |access-date=2024-11-26 |website=SFMOMA |language=en-US}}</ref>

== Early life == Paul John Jerome Caponigro was born in [[Boston]] on December 7, 1932, to Italian immigrant parents, and started having interests in photography at age 13.<ref name=nytobit/> However, he also had a strong passion in music and began to study music at [[Boston University]] College of Music in 1950, before eventually deciding to focus on studying photography at the [[San Francisco Art Institute|California School of Fine Arts]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.invaluable.com/artist/caponigro-paul-gonmlaniim/|title=Paul Caponigro Artwork for Sale at Online Auction &#124; Paul Caponigro Biography & Info|website=invaluable.com}}</ref>

== Photography career == Caponigro studied with [[Minor White]].<ref name=nytobit/> His first one-man exhibition took place at the [[George Eastman]] House in 1958. In the 1960s Caponigro taught [[photography]] part-time at [[Boston University]] while consulting for the [[Polaroid Corporation]] on various technical research.{{citation needed|date=August 2018}} In 1971, his work was exhibited in the group exhibition ''Le Groupe Libre Expression : Expo 5'', presented by Jean-Claude Gautrand, at the [[Rencontres d'Arles]] festival in Arles, France.{{cn|date=November 2024}}

He died on November 10, 2024 at his home in [[Cushing, Maine]] from congestive heart failure at the age of 91.<ref>{{cite news |title=In memoriam : Paul Caponigro (1932–2024) |url=https://loeildelaphotographie.com/fr/in-memoriam-paul-caponigro-1932-2024/ |access-date=15 November 2024 |publisher=L'œil De La Photographie |date=14 November 2024}}</ref><ref name=nytobit>{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2024/11/25/arts/paul-caponigro-dead.html|title=Paul Caponigro, Photographer in Love with Nature, Dies at 91|work=[[The New York Times]]|date=November 25, 2024|accessdate=November 25, 2024}}</ref>

==Personal life== Caponigro lived in El Rancho de San Sebastian during his time in New Mexico from 1973 to 1993.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://sam.nmartmuseum.org/people/712/paul-caponigro |title=Paul Caponigro |website=New Mexico Museum of Art |access-date=14 August 2018}}</ref> Caponigro was a dedicated pianist and considered his training with music to be essential to his photographic imagery.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.photographywest.com/pages/caponigro_bio.html|title=Photographer Paul Caponigro Biography|website=www.photographywest.com}}</ref>

His son, [[John Paul Caponigro]], is a digital photographic artist.<ref name=nytobit/> He was married to writer Eleanor Morris until their divorce in 1976.<ref name=nytobit/>

==Books== * ''Landscape.'' New York: McGraw-Hill, 1975. {{ISBN|978-0-07-009780-3}}. * ''The Wise Silence.'' New York Graphic Society Books; Little, Brown, 1983. {{ISBN|978-0-8212-1548-7}}. * ''Megaliths.'' Boston: Little, Brown, 1986. {{ISBN|0-8212-1616-3}}. * ''New England Days.'' Portland Museum of Art, 2002. {{ISBN|978-1-56792-216-5}}.

==Awards== *Three grants from the [[National Endowment for the Arts|NEA]]<ref name=nytobit/> *1966: [[Guggenheim Fellowship]]<ref name="gf">{{Cite web |title=Paul Caponigro – John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation… |url=https://www.gf.org/fellows/paul-caponigro/ |access-date=2024-11-26 |language=en-US}}</ref> *1975: Guggenheim Fellowship<ref name="gf"/> *2001: [[Royal Photographic Society]]'s Centenary Medal and Honorary Fellowship (HonFRPS)<ref name="rps"/>

==Collections== Caponigro's work is held in the following permanent collections: *[[Carnegie Art Museum]], Oxnard, California: 2 prints (as of 26 November 2024)<ref>{{Cite web |title=Collection {{!}} Carnegie Museum of Art |url=https://collection.carnegieart.org/?creator=%22Paul%20Caponigro%22 |access-date=2024-11-26 |website=carnegieart.org |language=en}}</ref> *[[Metropolitan Museum of Art]], New York: 14 prints (as of 26 November 2024)<ref name="metmuseum"/> *[[Museum of Fine Arts, Houston]]: 30 prints (as of 26 November 2024)<ref name="mfah"/> *[[Museum of Modern Art]], New York: 20 prints (as of 26 November 2024)<ref name="moma"/> *[[New Mexico Museum of Art]], Santa Fe, New Mexico<ref name=nytobit/> *[[Norton Simon Museum]], Pasadena, California: 1 print (as of 26 November 2024)<ref name=nytobit/> *[[San Francisco Museum of Modern Art]], San Francisco: 4 prints (as of 26 November 2024)<ref name="sfmoma"/> *[[Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum]], New York<ref name=nytobit/> *[[Whitney Museum of American Art]], New York<ref name=nytobit/>

==References== {{Reflist}}

==External links== * {{discogs artist|Paul Caponigro (2)}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Caponigro, Paul}} [[Category:1932 births]] [[Category:2024 deaths]] [[Category:Royal Photographic Society members]] [[Category:20th-century American photographers]] [[Category:Photographers from Boston]] [[Category:21st-century American photographers]] [[Category:People from Cushing, Maine]] [[Category:Deaths from congestive heart failure in the United States]] [[Category:Boston University alumni]] [[Category:American people of Italian descent]] [[Category:San Francisco Art Institute alumni]]