Peggy Detmers

Artist Sues Kevin Costner To Force Sculpture Sale

Filed under: Art

An artist who creates Western-themed bronze sculptures is taking on Kevin Costner over his delayed plans for a Deadwood-area luxury reosrt. South Dakota-based sculptor Peggy Detmers has said she spent more than six years on a monumental sculpture of 14 bison and three American Indian hunters for a commission by Costner. The piece was supposed to be part of a resort that Costner wanted to open in South Dakota's Black Hills. Detmers is suing in order to force Costner to sell the sculpture which she calls "Lakota Bison Jump." Her website features details on the making of the piece which Costner commissioned in the 1990s.

After filming much of his Academy Award-winning movie "Dances with Wolves" in South Dakota, Costner bought land and a casino and announced plans for a resort called The Dunbar on the edge of Deadwood. Those plans never fully came to fruition and for a time the sculpture had no home. According to the Rapid City Journal, Costner eventually spent $6 million to create a display site for the sculpture and build a visitors center: Tatanka: Story of the Bison. Detmers says she wasn't really included in the project.

Tags: Kevin Costner, Peggy Detmers, south dakota