Progression: Stephen Wiltshire

Stephen Wiltshire is an artist who draws and paints detailed cityscapes. He has a particular talent for drawing lifelike, accurate representations of cities, sometimes after having only observed them briefly. From November 6-11, The Phillips Collection, in partnership with the Embassy of the State of Qatar in Washington, DC, welcomed him into our galleries to draw a detailed cityscape of Doha, Qatar, entirely from photographic memory. Over the course of that week, Wiltshire dazzled guests as he detailed a to-scale drawing before their eyes. Take a look at how his work progressed.

Stephen Wiltshire's canvas, photographed by Victor Pierre

Stephen Wiltshire, photographed by Victor Pierre

Stephen Wiltshire, photographed by Victor Pierre

Stephen Wiltshire, photographed by Victor Pierre

Stephen Wiltshire, photographed by Victor Pierre

Stephen Wiltshire, photographed by Victor Pierre

Stephen Wiltshire, photographed by Victor Pierre

Stephen Wiltshire, photographed by Victor Pierre

Stephen Wiltshire, photographed by Victor Pierre

Stephen Wiltshire, photographed by Victor Pierre

Stephen Wiltshire's canvas, photographed by Victor Pierre

Stephen Wiltshire's canvas, photographed by Victor Pierre

Doha, Qatar Cityscape drawn from memory by Stephen Wiltshire, photographed by Victor Pierre

Doha, Qatar, Cityscape drawn from memory by Stephen Wiltshire. Photos: Victor Pierre

Dispatches: Drawing with Children in Morocco, Part 1

Last year, Phillips Head Librarian Karen Schneider spent time in the High Atlas Mountains, Morocco, teaching drawing to school children. She recounts the experience in this two-part blog post.

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The view!

From Marrakesh, it was a journey of an hour and a half to the Ouirgane Valley in the High Atlas Mountains, a remote, little visited region of Morocco. We were deep in the countryside when the driver pulled up to a grove of olive, fig and pomegranate trees. There we met with a guide who asked me if I was okay with walking to our destination, the only primary school in the area, where my travel agent had made arrangements for me to teach drawing to children. As I entered the Marigha school, it took me a moment to adjust from the bright sunlight to the dark and dingy interior.

Thirty-two pairs of eyes were fixed on me with a mixture of curiosity and shock. The school didn’t have drawing paper, crayons, magic markers or art supplies in general, my travel agent alerted me in advance. I came with all of the above and the teacher, Abdellah Ait Ougadir, a relaxed, friendly man who had excellent rapport with the students, helped me to distribute art supplies as did my guide and the driver.

Check back tomorrow for Part 2.

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Students at work

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Students at work

What’s in a Boxing Glove?

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Whitfield Lovell, Bleck, 2008. Conté crayon on wood and boxing gloves, 44 1/2 x 21 x 11 in. Courtesy DC Moore Gallery © Whitfield Lovell and DC Moore Gallery, New York

Tableaux such as Bleck, showing boxing gloves dangling from a female figure, are examples of Whitfield Lovell testing assumptions and pressing us to “think a little deeper.” Why do we see a woman and not a man with these boxing gloves? Lovell has altered our usual frame of reference. When we view the gloves less literally, the combination may suggest the woman’s perseverance, strength, and struggle.

Whitfield Lovell: The Kin Series and Related Works is on view through Jan. 8, 2017.