Tuesday, September 7, 2021

SURPRISING NOTICE BOARD OFFERING

 
In a  cluster of  notices  on  Magnetic Island  , flapping in the breeze,  is  this one  for a  mounted , limited edition photographic  print, number 42 of 100, by  a  top  Australian  photographer, well- known in  America, Peter Lik. It  is  a  view  of  Welcome Bay, Fitzroy Island, North Queensland . 

The  notice claims  an  art  broker  says  it  is worth $10,000. The  asking price : $5000.

 Born in Melbourne , the son of Czechoslovakian parents who emigrated to Australia after  WWll,  Lik  is  credited with having sold a  photo for  US$1million  to a  collector . There is even a suggestion that he sold a single print  entitled "Phantom" to an anonymous bidder for  $6.5million . 

In the l980s  he  went to America  , toured about in a van , shot many  large  format  photographs ; one  project  involved  shooting  landscapes in 50 states,  used  in calendars and postcards,  photos from which  were later used  in  the 2002 coffee  table book ,Spirit of America  .

In the early 1990s he worked for the Queensland Tourism Department ,opened his first gallery in Cairns and   then  moved  to  America  where he opened a string  of high class  galleries. He has won awards  for photography in  Australia and  America.