Running White Deer, County Wicklow, Ireland

No image available

Running White Deer, County Wicklow, Ireland

1967, printed 1979

Paul Caponigro

(American, 1932–2024)

Culture

America

Medium

gelatin silver print

Measurements

Image: 17.5 x 46.5 cm (6 7/8 x 18 5/16 in.); Mounted: 35.6 x 66 cm (14 x 26 in.)

Credit Line

Gift of Sharon & Del Zogg 2025.189

This artwork is known to be under copyright.

Location

Not on view

Did You Know?

White deer, rare creatures that for centuries have been the subject of myth and superstition, lack pigment over their bodies due to a recessive genetic trait.

Description

This image epitomizes the mystical qualities with which Paul Caponigro imbued his depictions of the natural world. Upon learning of a herd of white deer outside Dublin, Ireland, he asked a local man to have his dog chase the deer in and out of the forest. When the herd showed up at dusk, their motion and the low light resulted in this magical image of ghostly, blurred deer contrasting with the sharper detail of the trees.