The True Crime Story of a Notorious Looter

Douglas Latchford, a British dealer, trafficked looted Cambodian antiquities on a massive scale and sold objects to major institutions, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art. A new book centers on his criminal network that supplied and transported these works, along with the museum professionals and scholars who enabled the trade. Khmer sculptures were decapitated and dismembered, removed from sanctuaries, yet arrived in New York galleries and London auction houses in pristine condition. The newsletter also notes a first-time Manhattan Upper East Side view of Frank Stella’s collection of textiles made by Diné women, featuring bold color and geometric patterns. It further honors Jay Milder, an abstract painter and co-founder of City Gallery, who died at age 92.

"British dealer Douglas Latchford trafficked looted Cambodian antiquities on a massive scale before his death in 2020, selling objects to institutions like the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Emiline Smith brings us into the pages of a new book about the criminal network that supplied and transported these works - as well as the museum professionals and scholars who enabled it."

"At the center of Matthew Campbell's The Man Who Stole the Gods (2026) is British dealer Douglas Latchford. To Latchford, Khmer sculpture was a luxury asset to be exploited, an "intense hobby" that turned into "a real business." Statues were decapitated and dismembered, stripped from their sanctuaries, yet somehow these objects arrived immaculately and spiritually deodorized in New York galleries and London auction houses."

"You might not have known that midcentury minimalist Frank Stella held a breathtaking collection of textiles made by Diné women - now on view for the first time on Manhattan's Upper East Side - but take a look at their bold color and striking geometric patterns, and it'll click."

"Also today, we honor Jay Milder, abstract painter and co-founder of City Gallery, who died this week at the age of 92."

Read at Hyperallergic