Ernest Tino Trova Oil Painting from "Falling Man Series"

Item Details

Ernest Tino Trova (American; 1927 – 2009)
Untitled, from Falling Man Series; 1963
Graphite and oil painting on canvas
Signed and dated to the verso
“Pace Gallery” is inscribed to the lower right of the verso

An oil and graphite painting on canvas from the Falling Man Series by American artist Ernest Tino Trova (1927 – 2009), dated 1963. The work depicts Trova’s ‘Falling Man’, an armless, genderless human figure that the artist would continue to explore in many iterations for the remainder of his career. The piece is signed, dated and marked ‘Pace Gallery’ to the verso. The composition is presented in a gilt wooden frame.

In October 1963, Ernest Trova’s one-man-show was the inaugural exhibition at the Pace Gallery on West 57th Street in Manhattan, resulting in a sold-out show with works purchased by the Museum of Modern Art, The Whitney Museum, the architect Philip Johnson and others. While his 1963 exhibition at New York’s Pace Gallery was a success, it wasn’t until two years later when he began expressing the ‘Falling Man’ in sculpture did he realize international recognition.

Born in St. Louis in 1927, Ernest Trova’s artistic career began soon after he graduated from high school. Although he had no formal training, he landed a job working as a window dresser in a local department store. Ultimately, Trova’s trademark and best known work, the ‘Falling Man’, may have been at least partially influenced from this early job working with mannequins. His sculptures and paintings are in the permanent collections of the Museum of Modern Art, the Whitney Museum of American Art, the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, and the Tate Gallery, among others.

Condition

- accretion to canvas; scratches and wear to finish of frame.

Dimensions

- measures frame; image measures 16.5" W x 20" H.

Item #

18BOS258-049