Rosemary Castiglioni is reticent to advance her career as an artist by discussing her more prestigious collectors—especially when one is a possible future First Lady. But there’s no denying that Castiglioni’s painting, titled White on White, was the subtle presence behind Jill Biden in a rare glimpse of the latter’s home office during interviews in late June on Good Morning America and The View.
Castiglioni, who has been painting for 20 years, works in a studio in Woodstown, Salem County, and teaches drawing and painting at Rowan University. She specializes in still-life images of vegetables, fruit and cut flowers—often from Costco. Of her creative process, she says: “You try to introduce something organic with something rigid to find a good composition.”
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Like everyone else, Castiglioni was deeply affected by the onset of the Covid-19 lockdown. “The enormity quickly set in,” she says. “The anxiety was palpable, and it kept me from concentrating and focusing.” Eventually, she learned to make the best of the situation. “Taking the time has been good,” says Castiglioni. “I am learning how to work my way through this as the new normal. Drawing more and doing personal painting exercises, I am surprising myself and finding inspiration.”
As for White on White, the 2-foot-square oil-on-linen depiction of a vase of white roses was a surprise 2016 Christmas gift from Biden’s husband, the former vice president and current presidential candidate. Jill Biden is a longtime patron of the Station Gallery in Greenville, Delaware, which has represented Castiglioni since 2013.