Autistic Artist Stephen Wiltshire Draws NYC From Memory

Stephen Wiltshire was mute when he was diagnosed with severe autism at the age of three. He began communicating through his drawings after being sent to Queensmill School in London, and with the support of his special-needs teachers, gradually learned to speak.

It was during those school years that they discovered Stephen's special talent, when he drew the ornate Albert Hall following a class field trip -- without the aid of a photograph. Wiltshire has the uncanny ability to draw and paint detailed landscapes and cityscapes entirely from memory.

Wiltshire can look at the subject of his drawing once and reproduce it accurately with photographic detail, down to the exact number of columns or windows on a building. He memorizes their shapes, locations and the architectural flourishes, and will do so with New York City after a brief helicopter ride.

Having tackled the iconic cities of Tokyo, Rome, Hong Kong, Frankfurt, Madrid, Dubai, Jerusalem and London, Wiltshire is more than ready to take on The Big Apple and has already begun drawing the cityscape in pen.

WATCH:

Watch the live-stream of Stephen drawing the panoramic cityscape of New York here.

Art and Autism: The link between autism and the arts has been known for many years, with art therapy being a beneficial treatment for individuals with autism and related disabilities. The arts can help autistic children express themselves and interact with others, as it did in Stephen's case.

Art Therapy and Autism: Resources

The Stephen Wiltshire Gallery has prints available here. Profits from sales are donated towards childrens' charities, art education organizations and The Stephen Wiltshire Trust Fund where Stephen funds his ongoing studies from.

Comments

[AnthonyVolpe]

08:26 AM on 10/28/2009

Stunning. Absolutely stunning.

[insideoutgraphics]

08:13 AM on 10/28/2009

It seems as though some individuals have a definitive definition of what Art is. We all tend to think of the Masters. However, today, we have many different art forms, from oil painters to illustrators and yes even computer generated art forms. Centuries ago there were oils, as well as other artisan's that created architectural wonders.So Art ought not be defined by narrow definitions or pre conceived notions.Regardless of his neurology, Stephen can draw and does a fabulous job at it.The WHY's of his abilities are secondary to his talents and works. My opinion only:-) Illustration + Architectual Illus. IS an art form as well.Stephen impressed the h-ell out of me.His brain may be hardwired, but what he does with those synaptic connections is fabulous.

[Whinger]

07:16 AM on 10/28/2009

A disability coupled with an incredible ability, this is often the case with autistic people!

An autistic friend of mine can mentally work out complex math faster than a calculator!

[KIVPossum]

02:20 AM on 10/28/2009

Interesting and amazing. But why is it news? This was presented on television over 3 years ago.

[dougadam]

03:59 AM on 10/28/2009

We should have more news like this. There are 1000's of talented adults and children creating and doing these things everyday. They may not have had his opportunity or reached a certain level of talent or recognition, but we must as a society realize the work that needs to done to help these people, different from us only in their daily challenges, to live more healthy productive lives. I applaud the article and hope we see more.

[blaharumph]

07:29 AM on 10/28/2009

maybe the question was more about why the news is 3 years old?
yet, i do agree hat i would rather see more of this than the
"entertainment" news on the front page.

[AnthonyVolpe]

08:26 AM on 10/28/2009

It's a triumph regardless of when it was reported.

[DocSyracuse]

01:54 AM on 10/28/2009

That is truly amazing. Just illustrates how much more potential each of our brains has.

[BambooHarvester]

10:35 PM on 10/27/2009

OMG !
~

[J242]

10:34 PM on 10/27/2009

If he loves buildings, he should try drawing New Orleans.

[rushour]

11:54 PM on 10/27/2009

or Detroit

[gmlaster]

09:53 PM on 10/27/2009

Wow!

[BigAl72]

09:52 PM on 10/27/2009

That's amazing.

[Blakkwolfe]

08:38 PM on 10/27/2009

What an amazing bunch of nitwits. Artistic snobs who are quick to dismiss Stephen Wiltshire as anything other than a genius at doing what he does...Anyone disagree? Go ahead and try it yourself.

[MinkSnopes]

11:10 PM on 10/27/2009

There is another sense of the word "genius" that few are acknowledging, and it is the sense we reserve for individuals such as Mozart, Van Gogh, Nietzsche, Joyce, Goethe, etc. Their work and thought embodied the age from which their work emerged -- they bespeak an epoch, a moment, a singular manifestation of the spirit of their age. The chaos and beauty of their historical moments and their cultural situations are condensed and elevated in a unique and some would say immortal expression of art. THAT is why some people have a hard time throwing the word genius around: once you cease to accurately denote that quality of genius, what do you have, culturally and historically speaking? Once we stop recognizing Genius as such, and begin to be awed by mere novelty, we lose sight of our historical being.

BUT...hell yeah, this guy's drawing's are amazing, by any standard. I am stunned.

[Intelligentia]

12:02 AM on 10/28/2009

You are assuming that "Mozart, Van Gogh, Nietzsche, Joyce, Goethe" are considered geniuses outside of Eurocentric circles. In my eyes, which is the only ones that matter to me, this guy is the epitome of genius!

[pghperson]

01:27 AM on 10/28/2009

MinkSnopes, you have given an absolutely amazing, thoughtful comment. Fanned.

[rushour]

08:34 PM on 10/27/2009

He es a neocon and should run agains al franken. Let see who is the best

[twintwine]

07:51 PM on 10/27/2009

His ability is definitely exceptional and fun to witness.

The label of "genius" is semantically problematic. Genius could be thought of as possessing an exceptional ability. Or genius could be the ability to produce ideas which not only work, but ideas which basically nobody else could have anticipated and stated clearly. Wiltshire has the first, amazingly so, but the second, not really.

So it becomes your flavor of genius. And the argument between the two. Those who would call Wiltshire genius may rip on the other type of genius, the conceptual one, as "artsy", "wierd", "pretentious", "wrong", "disturbing". On the other side, Wiltshire might be considered as a crafty "philistine", a "copy machine", a "side show".

[chewie2008]

07:41 PM on 10/27/2009

I love it and we should be happy to witness such fine art.

[sadmonkey2]

07:15 PM on 10/27/2009

This made me realize how incredibly and overwhelmingly ordinary I am and I will ever be. I wish I had the same brain wiring as he has, minus the autism. I'd sell me kidneys for sure.

[Shirley Fisk]

09:29 PM on 10/27/2009

10/27/09
9:28pm
Alexandria, VA

You could be a writer. But try to be more optimistic--you just made me cry.

[vorpalmusic]

11:18 PM on 10/27/2009

Word up.

[jerrypl]

07:12 PM on 10/27/2009

WOW! Creativity manifesting in amazing ways.

I hope he can create a lifelong income for himself.

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