A Man With Autism Draws The Entire Cityscape Just From Memory

Imagine the last cityscape you looked at. Could you do a detailed and accurate drawing of it? Just from memory?Show more

Stephen Wiltshire can. And does.

One of Britain’s most prolific and talented artists, Stephen is known as “the Human Camera”. Diagnosed with autism at the age of three, he communicates with the world through drawing. He did not say his first word until the age of five when his teachers took away his art supplies, in order to encourage him to ask for them back. Stephen first commission came at the age of eight, from the British Prime Minister. He learned to speak at the age of nine, by then he was already drawing London landmarks in detail.

He is known for his ability to draw cityscapes from memory after seeing them just once. One of his favorite cities to draw is New York City. He once took a 20-minute helicopter tour of New York and then sketched everything he had seen onto a 19-foot-liong piece of paper. His largest ever drawing is a panoramic view of Tokyo, measuring 33 feet in length.

Stephen loves cities that have chaos and order at the same time. His commissions have a four to eight months waiting list. Stephen is a Member of the Order of the British Empire for his services to the art world. He is gifted musically as well. He has perfect pitch and also plays the piano.

From not speaking at all, now he is communicating with millions, expressing himself with art, a language we can all understand.