Agricola I
Agricola I is a 1952 abstract sculpture by American artist David Smith. The artwork is located on the grounds at and in the collection of the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden in Washington, D.C., United States. The word "agricola" means "farmer" in Latin. This work is the first in the "Agricola" series by Smith. Description. "Agricola I" is a painted steel sculpture made of old farm machinery which have been assembled to appear as a farmer holding a tool in each hand. Acquisition. The sculpture was originally purchased in 1962 from Park International in New York City. In  1966 the Hirshhorn Museum's namesake, Joseph H. Hirshhorn gave the work to the museum. Further information. The "Agricola" series includes other works utilizing old farm equipment. The series of sixteen sculptures, made between 1950 and 1957, represent Smith's concern with farming in upper New York State where he lived. Mercury. The sculpture has been described by curators at the National Gallery of Art as "making a direct reference" to "Mercury" as attributed to Adrian de Vries and "that this "Mercury" variation is not an isolated instance in Smith's career," referring to other works such as "Circles", "Wagons  and Sentinels" by Smith, which are all variations upon work by another artist. Deemed a "parody" by The Washington Post, in the catalog of the National Gallery's 1982-1983 exhibition, "David Smith," "Agricola" is renamed ""Mercury" variant" for the duration of the publication. In 1982, NGA curator E.A. Carmean Jr., stated that the Hirshhorn's "Agricola I" was a must have for NGA if the work was ever to be deaccessioned. Art historian and critic Rosalind Krauss describes "Agricola I" as being "a hieratic image, rigid, frontal, and planar to the point of existing almost solely as a silhouette ; whereas "Mercury" is a Mannerist work of combined elegance and muscularity..." She also points out that "Mercury" has nothing to do with the agricultural theme of "Agricola I". Reception. Art historian Sam Hunter described the "Agricola" series as "an abrasive, unadorned "art brut" of laconic gesture, almost no discernible style, and yet of an extraordinary lyric intensity." The Independent stated that the "Agricola" series depicts "primitive figures seem on their way to work the land, but it is hard to tell where the farmers end and where their tools begin." In a 1982 review of the National Gallery exhibition, The  New York Times called the "Agricola" series "elegantly wrought" and as "giving everyday forms a metaphorical unity,"