This is a sculpture of Christopher Columbus, by Douglas Bennet, given to the City of Seattle in 1978. Sometime later it was vandalized by someone pouring red paint over the head. When I first came upon the sculpture I wasn't sure if the paint was intentional or vandalism. It seemed to belong there somehow. So I began researching a little. In 2001 A Native American man distroyed a lifesize statue of Christopher Columbus in San Jose California with a sledge hammer. He stated at the time that Columbus was a "mass murderer" and "this man rode our backs", "this man murdered us." On March 4th 1495, After slaughtering a tribe of Awawak indians for fighting back against his brutish rule, Columbus reported back to Queen Isabel that "In the name of the Holy Trinity. We can now send from here all the slaves that Brazil can hold". I don't know if anyone's still with me here but I thought this was important to know. A Chimera is a mythical thing, or in Greek mythology a fire breathing monster.. I thought both definitions seemed appropriate. And Yes, I think the red paint belongs.. lee