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See the amazing picture by an autistic artist who drew London from memory after a single helicopter trip
Last updated at 10:07am on 03.04.08
London Eye: The 13ft canvas details seven miles of London between Canary Wharf and the Tower of London. It was created entirely from memory Click to enlarge
This picture depicting the London skyline in fine detail was drawn after just one flight over the city and purely from memory.
Stephen Wiltshire, who was diagnosed with autism at the age of three, memorised the appearance and position of hundreds of London's buildings in exact scale during a helicopter ride along the Thames.
Over the next five days, the 33-year-old drew the seven-square mile panorama, including landmarks such as the Swiss Re tower, and Canary Wharf, on a 13ft curving canvas.
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Gifted: Stephen Wiltshire, who is autistic, developed language skills by picking up words related to his twin obsessions - drawing and buildings
He did not refer to notes, preliminary sketches or photographs and his drawing includes the precise number of skyscraper floors.
Mr Wiltshire, who was set the challenge by Channel Five for its documentary, Extraordinary People: The Human Camera, said he was 'thrilled' with the result.
The artist, who received an MBE for his services to art in 2006, has a gallery in Pall Mall.
The challenge marks another chapter in his remarkable life, 30 years after being diagnosed as autistic.
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Wiltshire was set the challenge by Channel Five for its documentary
The real thing: London's skyline showing Canary Wharf
As a child, he was unable to speak and threw tantrums in frustration at not being able to make himself understood.
His family say that the only thing that seemed to comfort him was being given a pencil and paper.
Aged six, he shocked a family friend by drawing an accurate sketch of the facade of the department store Selfridges in a style well beyond his years.
At eight he sold his first drawing, of Salisbury Cathedral, which motivated him to communicate with others and gave him the ability to lead an independent life.
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Human camera: Stephen sketches the capital in one of the Millennium Wheel's pods. His drawings now sell for thousands
Graphic detail: A close-up of the canvas, which shows Canary Wharf and surrounding buildings. The drawing has been made exactly to scale
Teachers at Queensmill, a school in Fulham for special needs children, first got him to speak by taking away his materials, forcing him to shout 'Paper!'.
He developed language skills by picking up words related to his twin obsessions - drawing and buildings.
Prof Simon Baron-Cohen, director of Cambridge University's Autism Research Centre, said: 'We can speculate as to why Stephen chose buildings as his first topic of drawing in that buildings stay the same every time you look at them.
'People with autism like sameness, they like repetition, they like patterns in the environment.'
Reader views (5)
Here's a sample of the latest views published. You can click view all to read all views that readers have sent in.
I watched the programme last night and was so touched by your amazing drawings, you are an inspiration to us all in how to cope with life.
- Brenda - Southampton, Southampton - England
This is an extraordinary talent. Shows what the human mind might be capable of.
- Peter, Oakham Rutland
The photo captioned "The real thing: London's skyline showing Canary Wharf" doesn't actually show Canary Wharf at all. Have your caption writers visited London yet?
- Simon, London
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