The Outlook Podcast Archive

Drawing is my language: the artist who recreates cities from memory


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Stephen Wiltshire was born in London in 1974, and diagnosed with autism when he was three. Mute until he was five, he was sent to a specialist school where his teachers soon noticed his prodigious talent for drawing. His passion was buildings - the more complicated, the better - and he would recreate them in intricate detail on the page, often from memory. His rare gift astounded the world, and flung Stephen into the spotlight as a child. He was recognised as an 'artistic savant' - someone with extraordinary visual talents - and as a teenager he travelled the world, drawing famous international landmarks. Today, he continues to work as an artist, and is best known for drawing vast, panoramic cityscapes entirely from memory. He and his sister Annette tell Emily Webb about his journey.

Presenter: Emily Webb

Producer: Zoe Gelber

Get in touch: [email protected]

(Photo: Stephen Wiltshire drawing a panorama of Mexico City in 2016.. Credit: Daniel Cardenas/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images)

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The Outlook Podcast ArchiveBy BBC World Service

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