Douglas Latchford, a leading expert and dealer in Khmer and Indian antiquities, has died in Bangkok at the age of 89.
His family confirmed to The Art Newspaper today that Latchford, a well-known figure in the fields of South East Asian art and antiquities, died on 2 August. A private funeral has already taken place.
A self-described “adventurer scholar”, Douglas Latchford was born in Bombay (now present day Mumbai) to British parents. He settled in Thailand in 1951, where he became successful in the pharmaceutical and property businesses, before running body-building competitions. He was himself a large man, who took pleasure in telling journalists visiting his house full of statues of Buddha and Siamese or Burmese gods, how he became interested in South-Eastern art while travelling dirt roads in Thailand and Cambodia to explore fabulous ruins and local antiquities’ markets.
In full: https://www.theartnewspaper.com/news/douglas-latchford-death-of-an-adventurer-explorer
