GridImageCellElement should be able to hide the image that it shows. This should be possible thanks to a property that determines the visibility of the image. Probably, this property should be exposed at the base class LightVisualElement.

Resolution: 
Add new properties DrawImage and DrawBackgroundImage. You can use the following code snippet: 
void radGridView1_CellFormatting(object sender, CellFormattingEventArgs e)
{
    if (e.CellElement is GridImageCellElement)
    {
        e.CellElement.DrawImage = false;
    }
}