Stephen Wiltshire Fact File - KS2 PDF

Stephen Wiltshire “Do the best you can and never stop!” - Stephen Wiltshire Who is Stephen Wiltshire? Stephen Wiltshire is an incredible artist who has a talent for drawing cityscapes. Even when he has only seen them briefly, his life-like represent...

Stephen Wiltshire “Do the best you can and never stop!” - Stephen Wiltshire Who is Stephen Wiltshire? Stephen Wiltshire is an incredible artist who has a talent for drawing cityscapes. Even when he has only seen them briefly, his life-like representations are remarkably accurate. Early Life He was born in London on 24th April 1974. Stephen found it difficult to relate to other people and found out he was autistic at age three. When he started school, his preferred method of communication was through drawing. In order to encourage him to speak, his teachers removed his art materials so that he would ask for them; his first spoken word, ‘paper’. By the age of eight, he had his first commission from the former British prime minister, Edward Heath, who asked him to draw Salisbury Cathedral. Publications In 1987, his first book, entitled 'Drawings', was published. This featured his early sketches. ‘Cities’ was his second book (published in 1989) which included drawings of sites in New York, London, Paris and Edinburgh. Following travels to Amsterdam, Venice, Leningrad and Moscow, his third book ‘Floating Cities’ was born – this was published in 1991. During this time, Stephen would stop and draw what he was observing and crowds of people would congregate to see him in action. Page 1 of 2 visit twinkl.com  Stephen Wiltshire Television Sensation Throughout his career, Stephen has appeared on a number of television documentaries; in one of these, he was filmed flying over London in a helicopter. Within three hours, he completed a drawing of a four-square-mile area of the city which was perfectly to scale! He has since completed similar drawings of cities across the globe, including Madrid, Jerusalem, Istanbul and Mexico City. Achievements In 2006, Stephen was recognised by Queen Elizabeth II for his services to the art world and was presented with an MBE (Member of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire). During the same year, he founded his own art gallery in London. He continues to travel the world producing his incredible work. The drawing that he completed of New York in 2017 can be seen adorning the walls on the 80th floor of the Empire State Building. In Singapore, 150,000 people flocked to see his work in just five days, which set an attendance record in the country’s history. Fascinating Facts! Stephen also draws portraits of people but keeps them in a private sketchbook. He owns more than 70 classic cars. His largest drawing, a panoramic drawing of Tokyo in Japan, was ten metres in length. Page 2 of 2 visit twinkl.com