New York, as captured by the human camera

Lewis Smith
Friday 04 March 2011 01:00 GMT
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To say Stephen Wiltshire has an eye for detail is something of an understatement. While most of us would struggle to draw a single building accurately from memory, he can put an entire cityscape on paper after viewing it for just a few minutes.

The artist's latest work features views of London and New York, which he considers his spiritual home, and have gone on display at his eponymous gallery in the West End. The skyscrapers clustered round Central Park feature in one of the images. Others show Canary Wharf and the unfinished Shard, a building he hopes to return to when it is complete. Mr Wiltshire, who was awarded an MBE in 2006, was diagnosed with autism aged three and only learnt to talk properly at the age of nine, but was able to express himself in art from as young as five.

By the time he was seven he had sold his first work, and he came to national prominence in Britain when he featured in a BBC documentary in 1987. Many of his pictures have been produced after he took helicopter trips over cities. His largest project was a panorama of Tokyo and among his most impressive feats was creating a 33-foot long image of Hong Kong's Victoria Harbour after a 20-minute flight.

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