Ernest Trova
Ernest Tino Trova, (1927- ), a self-trained American surrealist and pop art painter and sculptor, was born in St. Louis. Best known for his signature images and figures, the Falling Man, Trova considered his entire output a single "work in progress." Trova used classic American comic character toys in some of his pieces because he admired their surrealism. He began as a painter, progressing through three-dimensional constructions to his mature medium, sculpture. Trova’s gift of forty of his works led to the opening of St. Louis County, Missouri's Laumeier Sculpture Park. With his Falling Man series of images and figures, Ernest Trova created one of the defining artistic images of his career. He lives in Richmond Heights, Missouri.