Ernest Trova

Born in St. Louis, Missouri, Trova possessed an artistic inclination since childhood but worked a variety of jobs after secondary school, including as a department store window dresser and building superintendent, before seriously pursuing painting, drawing, and sculpture. Drawing inspiration from myriad influences, Trova’s early Abstract Expressionist works, created in St. Louis, included watches, kaleidoscopes, and a men’s suit. His provocative “Roman Boy” received first place at the St. Louis Art Museum’s Missouri Show and was photographed for Life magazine in 1947, raising his national profile. In the 1960s, Trovahe gained critical and commercial success with his series of Pop Art series of works entitled “Falling Man,” which depicted duplications of a faceless, armless figure in a variety of mediums, including chrome or bronze sculptures, paintings, and prints. His 1963 show, “Falling Man Paintings,” debuted at the Pace Gallery in Manhattan. W and works from that show are now held now reside in the collections of the Museum of Modern Art and the Whitney Museum. A lifelong resident of St. Louis, Trova donated a collection of 40 works of sculpture to support the creation of the Laumeier Sculpture Park in St. Louis County in 1976. Trova died in St. Louis in 2009 at the age of 82.