Ernest Trova American, 1927-2009

Self-taught painter and sculptor Ernest Trova is best known for his “Falling Man” series, a repetitive motif of armless and faceless men possibly inspired by the mannequins he used during his day job as a department store window display designer. Occasionally linked to Pop art, Trova was influenced by his industrial designer father as well as Willem de Kooning and Ezra Pound.

Although Trova lived in Missouri his entire life, he had occasional solo exhibitions at Pace Gallery from 1963 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 (via Artsy).