Incredible artist spends five days drawing the Empire State Building and New York City from MEMORY after 45-minute helicopter ride
Stephen Wiltshire, 43, who is renowned for his impressive drawings, began working on the drawing on October 11, and completed it on Sunday
AN ARTIST has created an incredible drawing of the New York City skyline – and he did it completely from memory.
UK artist Stephen Wiltshire, 43, spent just 45 minutes observing the iconic skyline during a helicopter ride before sketching out the unbelievably detailed piece of art.
The amazing drawing features famous landmarks such as the Empire State Building and took five days to complete.
Stephen, who is renowned for his impressive drawings, began working on the drawing on October 11, and completed it on Sunday.
He then took part in a signing ceremony at the Empire State Building on Monday night.
Anthony E Malkin, Chairman and CEO of the Empire State Realty Trust said: “Stephen Wiltshire has a truly special gift, an enormous talent.
“To have the chance to have Stephen in residence at the Empire State Building is truly an honour, and for him to allow our guests to watch him work is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.”
The finished piece of art, which is the approximately the size of a large gallery wall, was produced using just pen and pencil and gives an in-depth panoramic view of the famous Manhattan skyline.
Stephen has been an award-winning artist since an early age and received his first commission, a drawing of Salisbury Cathedral, from Prime Minister Edward Heath at just eight-years-old.
He is well-known for his astonishing ability to draw detailed landscapes from memory – after seeing his subject just once.
In 2006, Stephen, who was diagnosed as autistic when he was three, was named a Member of the Order of the British Empire by Queen Elizabeth II for his services to art.
Later that year, he went on to found a gallery at the Royal Opera Arcade in London.
Stephen’s drawings include city skylines such as Tokyo, Madrid, Dubai, Jerusalem, Sydney, Shanghai, Istanbul, Mexico City and Rome.
But he says that his favourite, apart from his home in London, is New York City.
He said: “After many, many years of travelling and sketching cities across the globe, I always come back to Manhattan as a place for inspiration.
“The Empire State Building has long been my favourite building in the world, and while I had the opportunity to sketch it in 2015, this is a unique commission which has me really excited.”
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