Gallery owner latest war victim

A SAN FRANCISCO gallery owner bears a painful reminder of her nation’s unresolved anguish over the incidents at the Abu Ghraib prison, a black eye delivered by an unknown assailant who apparently objected to a painting that depicts US soldiers torturing Iraqi prisoners.

The assault outside the Capobianco gallery in the city’s North Beach district late on Thursday night was the worst in a string of verbal and physical attacks directed at Lori Haigh since the artwork was installed at her gallery on May 16.

San Francisco police have stepped up patrols around the gallery, but Ms Haigh decided to close the gallery indefinitely, citing concern for the safety of her two children, aged 14 and 4, who often accompanied her to work.