PHNOM PENH.- Andrew Henderson, best known as the founder of Nomad Capitalist, is developing Vesper Collection with a clear ambition: to build the world’s largest private collection of Cambodian paintings.

The project grows out of thirteen years of visiting Cambodia and an attachment that has become increasingly personal. Henderson has become a Cambodian citizen and is building relationships with artists whose work he wants to collect, live with and bring to a wider audience.

“I believe in the future of Asia, and I see Cambodia as one of its most up-and-coming countries,” Henderson says. “There’s something about Phnom Penh that reminds me of the creative atmosphere of Paris in Hemingway’s time. I want to be part of that.”
Ernest Hemingway moved to Paris in 1921 and became part of a community of writers and painters whose friendships and work helped define the period. What appeals to Henderson is the opportunity to take part in a city’s creative life while it is still developing its wider reputation. In Phnom Penh, he sees artists making work that deserves far more attention.

Henderson regards Cambodian painting as one of the world’s most underappreciated art forms. He wants Vesper Collection to give the medium greater visibility, introducing people to individual artists and encouraging them to look closely at the paintings themselves.

The collection already includes works by Leang Seckon, Duong Saree, Chan Dany, Chov Theanly, Nou Sary, Im Pesey and Pen Robit, among others. Acquisitions are guided by personal taste, with room for established artists, emerging talent and works chosen simply for the pleasure of owning them. The intention is to build depth as well as breadth.

Leang Seckon is represented by works made seventeen years apart. Duet and Using the loud speaker at the funeral, both dated 2009, sit within the collection alongside The Auspicious Time for the Haircut, a mixed-media work on canvas from 2026. Collecting across different periods allows Henderson to follow the development of an artist’s practice.


Andrew Henderson with Cambodian artist Nou Sary.

The range of materials is also part of the appeal. Chan Dany’s Lotus Flower (2025) uses pencil shavings on wood. Chea Sereyroth’s Planting (2024) combines acrylic with sawdust, mud and soil on canvas. Im Pesey’s Life on Three Wheels (2025) brings gold and silver leaf together with watercolor on paper.

Other paintings include Duong Saree’s paired gouaches Kbach Tonl� Sap 1 and Kbach Tonl� Sap 2 (2008), Chov Theanly’s Being (2026), Nou Sary’s Blue Lane (2025) and Pen Robit’s Waterlily plant (2026). These acquisitions provide a starting point for a collection Henderson intends to continue developing through direct contact with artists and galleries.

A Phnom Penh apartment is being developed as a home for the collection, with paintings intended to be shown in rotation. Henderson wants a setting where people can spend time with the works and where the collection can develop a life beyond individual purchases. Opportunities for loans and engagement with cultural institutions may follow as it grows.

A forthcoming Vesper Collection website will present photographs, artwork details and documented provenance, giving audiences outside Cambodia a way to discover the artists represented and follow new acquisitions.

For Henderson, the collection is a way to contribute to a country in which he has chosen to build part of his life. The ambition is international in scale, with the paintings and the relationships behind them rooted in Cambodia.