British artist Stephen Wiltshire has an amazing, even uncanny artistic specialty. He draws exact panoramic replicas of some of the world's most complicated and busiest capital cities within a matter of hours, having viewed them from above only briefly during a helicopter ride.
Born in London to West Indian parents, Wiltshire was diagnosed with autism at the age of 3. He only began to speak properly at the age of 9, and so instead, he communicated through the language of art. He began by drawing animals, then cars and London buses and, eventually, he discovered his passion for precisely representing buildings. At a tender age he was already creating detailed large-scale cityscapes, including sketches featuring well-known London landmarks.
Since childhood, Stephen's work has been the focus of several international television programs and he was the subject of an essay by writer and psychologist, Oliver Sacks, in his bestselling book, 'An Anthropologist on Mars', published in 1995.
In 2001, a BBC documentary film, 'Fragments of Genius', explored Wiltshire's ability for recreating realistic and complicated scenes. He was filmed flying over London in a helicopter following which he produced a meticulous illustration of a four-square-mile area of the city in just 3 hours. Subsequently, the bustling cities of New York, Tokyo and Rome have among others, been added to his astounding repertoire.
Two years ago in recognition of his contribution to the art world, Queen Elizabeth II awarded Wiltshire the title of Member of the Order of the British Empire.
Stephen recently arrived in Israel to sketch the city of Jerusalem on the occasion of 40 years as a reunified city. He used images observed from a one-hour helicopter journey over the vicinity to produce from memory an intricate version of the city on a four-meter-long canvas, which he finished within a few days. He presented the work to Jerusalem's Mayor Uri Lupolianski on May 22nd at the City Hall in Jerusalem.
The completed masterpiece will be auctioned off and a share of the proceeds will help to fund child education and autism research in Israel. During his short visit in Israel, Wiltshire also led art activities in two schools in Jerusalem for autistic children.
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