Stephen Wiltshire: an autistic savant

[Lena Mansah Barnes]

Artist Stephen Wiltshire drawing the 305-mile skyline of New York City on a 19-foot long paper-all from memory.

Stephen Wiltshire is an autistic savant, who displayed an incredible talent from drawing from an early age.

Stephen Wiltshire is an artist who draws and paints detailed cityscapes. He has a particular talent for drawing lifelike, accurate representations of cities, sometimes after having only observed them briefly. He was awarded an MBE for services to the art world in 2006. He studied Fine Art at City & Guilds Art College. His work is popular all over the world, and is held in a number of important collections. 

Stephen was born in London, United Kingdom to West Indian parents on 24th April, 1974. As a child he was mute, and did not relate to other people. Aged three, he was diagnosed as autistic. He had no language and lived entirely in his own world. 

At the age of five, Stephen was sent to Queensmill School in London, where it was noticed that the only pastime he enjoyed was drawing. It soon became apparent he communicated with the world through the language of drawing; first animals, then London buses, and finally buildings. These drawings show a masterful perspective, a whimsical line, and reveal a natural innate artistry.

Wiltshire has become famous for short helicopter rides over famous cities, after which he draws the entire skyline from memory with amazing detail. In May 2005, Wiltshire created his longest ever panoramic memory drawing of Tokyo on a 52-foot canvas within a week, following a 30-min helicopter ride over the city.

View many more pictures of Wiltshire working on his NYC skyline panorama here. You can learn more about Wiltshire here at his website. See Wiltshire’s Tokyo panoramahere.