CUSHING — Paul Caponigro died of congestive heart failure Sunday, Nov 10, 2024.

Born in Boston in 1932, at a young age, Paul Caponigro displayed dual passions for photography and music. He studied at Boston University College of Music in 1950 with Alfonso Fondacaro before deciding to focus on photography. Caponigro remained a dedicated classical pianist, and his music influenced his photography. You can hear him play here - https://bit.ly/4bZEBQ8.

One of America’s foremost landscape photographers, Caponigro is best known for the spiritual qualities he revealed in natural forms, landscapes, and still lifes. His subjects include the megalithic monuments of the British Isles, Scotland, Ireland, and France; the temples and sacred gardens of Japan; and the woodlands of New England. His photographs are featured in more than a dozen monographs, including Sunflower, Landscape, Megaliths, New England Days, and The Wise Silence.

He had his first solo exhibition at the George Eastman House in 1958 and went on to be widely exhibited internationally. Caponigro's work is included in countless collections including the Museum of Modern Art, the Smithsonian America Art Museum, and The Getty.

He received two Guggenheim Fellowships and three National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) grants. He consulted with the Polaroid Corporation. In recognition of a career spanning nearly seventy years and a sustained, significant contribution to the art of photography, Caponigro was awarded The Royal Photographic Society’s Centenary Medal and Honorary Fellowship in 2001, was the Honoree for the Achievement in Fine Art presented by the Lucie Awards in 2020, and inducted into the International Photography Hall of Fame in 2024.

First visiting Maine as a boy with his father, he later spent many summers as one of the first teachers at the Maine Media Workshops, before moving permanently in 1996 to be near his son in Cushing, Maine.

Son of George and Mary Caponigro, he is survived by his ex-wife Eleanor; son John Paul; daughter-in-law Arduina; and granddaughter Gwen.

In lieu of flowers, the family asks that you consider making a contribution to the Paul Caponigro Scholarship Fund at Maine Media Workshops - https://www.mainemedia.edu/. Details about memorials, both in-person and online, will be forthcoming and can be found on his son’s website - johnpaulcaponigro.com. Fond memories of Paul are currently collecting on Instagram (https://bit.ly/3Obuspg) and Facebook.

We invite you to join the chorus celebrating this unique man and his extraordinary art.

Arrangements are in the care of Burpee, Carpenter & Hutchins Funeral Home, 110 Limerock Street, Rockland.