Matthew Bogdanos Awarded Marica Vilcek Prize in Art History for Repatriation of Stolen Artifacts
The leader of the Manhattan DA’s Antiquities Trafficking Unit is acknowledged for his lifelong dedication to recovering and safeguarding looted antiquities.
US Colonel Matthew Bogdanos has worked tirelessly throughout his career to protect cultural heritage, recovering thousands of artifacts from across the world. For his extraordinary work at the unique intersection of cultural preservation and military service, he has been awarded the 2026 Marica Vilcek Prize in Art History. “Just as one case closes, another opens,” he notes, but does not seem deterred by the endless onslaught of cases to solve.
“History warns us worse is coming,” Bogdanos says. “Once you erase a people’s historical identity, the next step is to erase the people themselves.”
Bogdanos’s passion for cultural heritage began early in life. At age 12, his mother, then a waitress in the family’s Greek restaurant in Lower Manhattan, gave him a copy of Homer's Iliad, which sparked a lifelong devotion to antiquity. In 1980, he earned a bachelor’s degree in classical studies from Bucknell University, enrolling in the military while still a first-year student. He then went on to complete a master’s degree in strategic studies from the United States Army War College, and a law degree and master’s degree in classical studies from Columbia University.
In April 2003, Bogdanos led a multiagency recovery team into the Iraq Museum in Baghdad, where thousands of antiquities, including the 4,500-year-old hammered gold helmet of King Meksalamdug, had been looted during the invasion. His investigation recovered more than 9,000 pieces from eight countries, and he received the 2005 National Humanities Medal for this work. Bogdanos documented his findings in the book Thieves of Baghdad (with William Patrick), donating all royalties to the Iraq Museum.
Since returning to the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office in 2010, his unit has recovered more than 6,100 antiquities, totaling more than $480 million, stolen from Greece, Italy, Egypt, Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, Israel, India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Cambodia, Nepal, Thailand, and beyond. Bogdanos’s advocacy has influenced international policy, including UN Security Council Resolution 2199, which recognized antiquities trafficking as a source of terrorist funding. He maintains his mission to combat the illicit trade that threatens both cultural heritage and global security.
The Marica Vilcek Prize in Art History honors art historians, curators, and fine arts professionals whose work has a profound impact on their institutions, in their scholarship, and on arts and culture in general.
To learn more, visit vilcek.org.
