Someone vandalized one of the 82 bronze sculptures installed throughout downtown Cheyenne, and nobody’s sure if the crime was an attempted theft, prank, or just damaging it for fun.\u00a0<\/p>\n
“I don’t know if they were criminals trying to steal it or turds trying to wreck it,” said Cheyenne art dealer Harvey Deselms.<\/p>\n
The bronze sculpture, placed in memory of a deceased spouse, has been removed from its pedestal but hasn’t suffered any permanent damage. It will be back on\u00a0the corner of Pioneer Avenue and West 19th Street, right across from the Laramie County Sheriff’s Office, soon.<\/p>\n
“Not only are you a criminal guilty of destruction of public property, but you’re also an idiot,” Deselms said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
A Memorial\u00a0<\/p>\n
“Buffalo Nation” is a bronze sculpture by famous Wyoming artist Chris Navarro. The $6,400 work was donated to the city of Cheyenne by Sue Mecca in honor of her late husband, Ernest.\u00a0<\/p>\n
“That’s why I’m disgusted that this happened,” Deselms said. “Breaking something that isn’t yours is wrong on so many levels, but this sculpture was donated to honor someone’s late husband.\u00a0<\/p>\n
“If that was honoring your spouse, parents, or grandparents, how would you feel?”\u00a0<\/p>\n
The sculpture was installed on July 16 and remained untouched until this incident. Deselms isn’t sure when the vandalism occurred, but he said it was sometime within the last 10 days.<\/p>\n
Deselms isn’t sure whether to attribute the damage to an attempted theft or someone “just messing with it.” Either way, he’s baffled that someone would be that brazen with the bronze, given its location.<\/p>\n
“With the sheriff’s office and two banks right there, I don’t know how many cameras would have that spot in their sights,” he said. “It just seems stupid, but criminals aren’t smart, I guess.”\u00a0<\/p>\n
![\"Sue](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Damaged-bison-f1debb57-4b89-4812-8fff-cb4463d09a13-10.30.25.jpg\")
Sue Mecca, the donor who financed “Buffalo Nation,” at the installation of the bronze sculpture on July 16, 2025. Mecca donated the sculpture in memory of her husband, Ernest, which makes the damage done to it “wrong on so many levels” to Cheyenne art dealer Harvey Deselms. (Courtesy Photo)Too Many Targets<\/p>\n
“Buffalo Nation” was installed as part of the\u00a0Cheyenne’s Capitol Avenue Bronze Project<\/a>. It’s been an ongoing effort to place 100 bronze sculptures that Deselms, Wyoming artists, and Cheyenne residents have dreamed of since 2008.\u00a0<\/p>\n “We have 82 in place, five more finished and ready to place, and 10 more that are actively being worked on, either in the foundry or being sculpted,” Deselms said. “We’re very fortunate that nobody’s really had a campaign of vandalism against them.”\u00a0<\/p>\n When the project began with fewer than 10 bronzes installed at various locations in Cheyenne, there were a few notable incidents of vandalism. One of the original sculptures was stolen, and some were covered in paint that was easily cleaned off.<\/p>\n Several years and dozens of bronze sculptures later, incidents of vandalism have been few and far between. Deselms thinks there are just too many for people to pick one to “get attention.”\u00a0<\/p>\n “When there were fewer sculptures, people targeted whichever one would get the most attention,” he said. “Now that there are so many, I think it’s dissuaded some vandalism.”\u00a0<\/p>\n The worst recent incident of damaging a Cheyenne sculpture was unintentional.\u00a0<\/p>\n
![\"The](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Damaged-bison-571457543_10238203191594815_4515808285292382961_n-10.30.25.jpg\")
The damage done to “Buffalo Nation,” a bronze sculpture by Chris Navarro on the corner of Pioneer Avenue and W. 19th Street in Cheyenne. The sculpture wasn’t damaged but has been removed so it can be fitted to its pedestal with new bolts to make it even more secure. (Courtesy Photo)You Won’t Like This Felony<\/p>\n