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This photo sold for £4million and some people are angry

Simon Usborne (editedDec 12, 2014 This is Phantom, a monochromatic photograph by Peter Lik of a shaft of light in an Arizona canyon. This week in Las Vegas it was sold to an anonymous, long-time collector of Lik's work for $6.5million (£4.1m), becoming the most expensive photo of all time. Two other works from Australian-born Lik, Illusion and Eternal Moods, sold for $2.4m (£1.5m) and $1.1m (£700,000) respectively for a total of $10m (£6.4m). Lik has now taken four of the most expensive photographs in history after his image One - previously the most expensive - sold for $1m in 2011. The sale of the photo has proven a bit polarising, however... I've never even heard of him. It's pretty astonishing. I've looked at his work today and, though he's a very good commercial photographer who can take pictures people like, he has no standing whatever in the fine-art world that I belong to.Martin Parr, renowned British photographer It's an abomination. I remember when he sold the picture in 2010, my jaw dropped. I thought, 'who could be persuaded to part with $1m for a piece of tat?' You could have done it with an iPhone.Michael Hoppen, a leading British photography galleristKeep reading...Show less

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