Is Peter Lik the most expensive photographer in the world?

Nowadays, the lists of the most expensive photographers are informally topped by Peter Lik, a landscape painter from Australia, whose work is presented in dozens of galleries around the world.

Back in December 2014, the photographer announced the most successful deal in the world of photography: a private collector bought his monochrome photograph called Phantom for a fantastic $ 6.5 million. In addition to this, the collector bought two more works by Lik - "Illusion" ("Illusion") for $ 2.4 million, as well as "Eternal Moods" ("Eternal Moods") for $ 1.1 million.

Peter is arguably the best-selling artist in the history of fine art photography. The deals, of course, were private, and to prove that they did take place, the world community has only high-profile testimony from lawyers accompanying the sale.

Photo "Phantom" was taken in northern Arizona, in Antelope Canyon. This is a very popular destination for landscape photographers. The picture shows rays of light forming a mysterious haze, similar to a translucent ghost. This is a black and white version of the image that was previously printed in color and was called the Ghost.

But "Phantom" is not Lik's first "successful sale". In 2010, his photographic work "One" (One) received the status of one of the most expensive photographs in the world, being sold at auction for $ 1 million.

"Odin" is an image of a river with a reflection of the colorful foliage of autumn trees on the water surface. This work looks more like not a photo, but a painting in the style of impressionism. This successful photo was taken in the state of New Hampshire, on the Androskoggin River. Peter Lik called it "One" because he considered it a unique, unrepeatable, fleeting opportunity. Feeling the unity with nature, the photographer took one single picture and printed only one photo from it. This is partly the reason for its high price tag, Lik said. The photo was acquired by a private collector who wished to remain anonymous.

The popular photographer prints his works in Las Vegas, at his own enterprise, with an area of ​​30 480 sq. M. Among the collectors of Lik's photographs are Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, Celine Dion, Cindy Crawford, the Rolling Stones, the architect Frank Geria, and many others. In addition to the record-breaking amount raised for Phantom alone, according to the New York Times, Lik has sold about 100,000 of his photographs worth nearly $ 450 million. His income averages $ 1.6 million per week. In the top 20 most expensive photographs, Peter Lik took four positions on the list at once.

Peter Lik began his career as a photographer in his native Australia. He was born in Melbourne in 1959 in a family of Czechs who moved to Australia after World War II. When he was 8 years old, his parents gave him his first camera — Kodak Brownie. In a very modest family life, the camera became an especially valuable gift for the boy. His first photograph is a spider web in a garden, shimmering with dew drops. This Peter Lik style made him famous all over the world.

It was then that Peter Lik felt his connection to nature through photography. Growing up, he began to work to find the opportunity to buy the necessary photographic equipment and equipment to travel the world and hunt for the most impressive pictures. In the 1980s, the self-taught photographer made several trips around the United States. After that, being conquered by the power of the landscapes of southwestern America, he decided to stay in the very center of the landscapes that Lik loved — in Las Vegas.

 As far as the camera is concerned, the photographer has never settled on any one brand. Peter has shot with Canon, Nikon, Hasselblad, Polaroid, Leica, Fuji, Pentax, Linhof, Phase One, and even a Samsung smartphone.