D.C. museum visitor attacks Gauguin painting

WASHINGTON — A painting by French Impressionist Paul Gauguin that was attacked by a visitor to the National Gallery of Art in Washington is back on exhibition.

The painting, "Two Tahitian Women," went back on display Tuesday after conservators determined that the painting, which was covered by Plexiglas, sustained no damage after a visitor attempted to pull it off the wall and hit it Friday.

The woman charged in the attack, Susan Burns, of Alexandria, Va., is expected to appear in D.C. Superior Court on Wednesday.

According to court documents, Burns told investigators: "I feel that Gauguin is evil. He has nudity and is bad for the children. He has two women in the painting and it's very homosexual. I was trying to remove it. I think it should be burned. I am from the American CIA and I have a radio in my head. I am going to kill you."

The painting, valued at $800 million and owned by the Metropolitan Museum of Art, is part of "Gauguin: Maker of Myth," which opened in late February.