Ernest Trova

Born 1927, Clayton, MO. Died 2009, Richmond Heights, MO.

 
 

About

Ernest Trova is best known for his “Falling Man” series, a motif of armless and faceless figures, possibly inspired by the mannequins he used during his day job as a department store window display designer. A self-taught painter and sculptor, Trova lived in Missouri his entire life, exhibiting at Pace Gallery and publishing prints with Pace Prints from the 1960s into the ’80s. His metal sculptures vary from small-scale to monumental as they thematically explore the tension between balance and order. Trova’s foundational gift of 40 sculptures helped establish the Laumeier Sculpture Park in Missouri. His works are also in the collections of the Museum of Modern Art, Whitney Museum of American Art, the Guggenheim Museum, and the Tate.