Peter Lik’s ‘Phantom’ Photo Is the Most Expensive Ever Sold

World’s famous landscape photographers Peter Lik just sold what is (at least until now) the most expensive photograph ever sold. The photo, known as “Phantom” sold for a whooping $6.5 million (ABC talks of $7.8 million – but who is really counting?).

Phantom which was recently sold to an undisclosed private collector, is a black-and-white depiction of a light ray taken in Arizona’s Antelope Canyon.

“Phantom” (Credit: Peter Lik)

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This is not the first time Lik stars in the top seller list of high end art photography – in the past Lik sold his photo entitled “Illusion” for $2.4 million and “Eternal Moods” for $1.1 million as well as  “One” which was sold (yes you guessed right) for 1 million dollars. He is currently holding 4 of the first 20 spots for most expensive photographs ever sold. We have published a Behind the Scenes video of Lik last year shooting on top of a roof in NY.

The short video segment above from Al Jazeera America has a quick talk with art critic Kenneth Baker who seems pretty skeptic about the artistic value of the photo and states that this is a market phenomenon not an art phenomenon and even raises questions about the uniqueness of the photo. So what do you think – is “Phantom” really worth millions of dollars or is it all just art buyers financial speculation?

You can find many more art-photography related videos on our dedicated section here on LensVid.

Iddo Genuth
Iddo Genuth is the founder and chief editor of LensVid.com. He has been a technology reporter working for international publications since the late 1990's and covering photography since 2009. Iddo is also a co-founder of a production company specializing in commercial food and product visual content.

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