Ernest Trova

American · 1927–2009 · Painter, Printmaker

Ernest Tino Trova was a self-trained American surrealist and pop art painter and sculptor. Best known for his signature image and figure series, The Falling Man, Trova… (Wikipedia)

Email alerts for new results and upcoming sales

Own a work by Ernest Trova? Get a free auction estimate →

116lots offered1995–2026years recorded91%sold (96)$1.8kSign up free to seemedian price

2 works by Ernest Trova with an auction history (offered more than once) →

Record prices

Show prices also in

Falling ManWright · Feb 2009$18,750≈ £13,074≈ €14,669Sign up to see
Study/Falling Man (Radical Hinge Figure #2)Bonhams · Jul 2022$16,575≈ £13,687≈ €16,375Sign up to see
Study/Falling Man (Flapman)Bonhams · Oct 2023$12,160≈ £9,953≈ €11,437Sign up to see

Ernest Trova’s highest prices recorded at auction, ranked in US dollars at each sale-date exchange rate and shown in the currency of the sale (with the buyer’s premium where the house publishes it).

All filters

Longest side– Editioned With imagesReset

108 results · page 2 of 3

Falling Man Manscape, 1966
Screenprint
25¼ h x 40 w in (64 x 102 cm)
Rago Auctions · Oct 7, 2021 · Lot 211
$750≈ £552≈ €649Price realizedSign up free to seeEst. $800–View at Rago Auctions ↗
Walking Man
Sculpture
Palm Beach Modern Auctions · May 15, 2021 · Lot 268
$10,000≈ £7,101≈ €8,249Price realizedSign up free to seeView at Palm Beach Modern Auctions ↗
Standing Man
Sculpture
Palm Beach Modern Auctions · May 15, 2021 · Lot 271
$10,625≈ £7,545≈ €8,764Price realizedSign up free to seeView at Palm Beach Modern Auctions ↗
Study/Falling Man Profile Canto #83, 1987
Sculpture
15 h x 7 w x 6½ d in (38 x 18 x 17 cm)
Wright · Apr 22, 2021 · Lot 260
$2,500≈ £1,803≈ €2,075Price realizedSign up free to seeEst. $2,000–View at Wright ↗
Etc. / Model, 1978
Sculpture
19 h x 17¾ w x 6 d in (48 x 45 x 15 cm)
Wright · Apr 22, 2021 · Lot 303
$4,375≈ £3,155≈ €3,632Price realizedSign up free to seeEst. $2,500–View at Wright ↗
Falling Man, Shadow Figure, 1971
Sculpture
7 h x 11½ w x 7⅜ d in (18 x 29 x 19 cm)
Wright · Apr 22, 2021 · Lot 307
$2,250≈ £1,622≈ €1,868Price realizedSign up free to seeEst. $1,500–View at Wright ↗
Untitled
7" x 7.5" x 11"
Clarke Auction Gallery · Mar 7, 2021 · Lot 84
$1,600≈ £1,156≈ €1,348HammerSign up free to seeEst. $600–900View at Clarke Auction Gallery ↗
Study/Falling Man (Figure in Sphere), 1986
Sculpture
Los Angeles Modern Auctions (LAMA) · Feb 28, 2021 · Lot 59
$5,625≈ £4,039≈ €4,667Price realizedSign up free to seeEst. $10,000–View at Los Angeles Modern Auctions (LAMA) ↗
Study/Falling Man (Double Walking Figure), 1986
Sculpture
Los Angeles Modern Auctions (LAMA) · Feb 28, 2021 · Lot 60
$6,875≈ £4,937≈ €5,704Price realizedSign up free to seeEst. $10,000–View at Los Angeles Modern Auctions (LAMA) ↗
Poemetry, 1994
Mixed media · Board
35¾ h x 28 w in (91 x 71 cm)
Rago Auctions · Oct 21, 2020 · Lot 328
$1,188≈ £910≈ €1,002Price realizedSign up free to seeEst. $700–View at Rago Auctions ↗

Also offered, result not published (10)

Lots by Ernest Trova that were offered at auction where the house did not publish whether they sold. Not counted in any statistics.

Ernest Trova paintings (21)Ernest Trova oil paintings (9)Ernest Trova acrylic paintings (9)Ernest Trova prints (31)Ernest Trova screenprints (30)Ernest Trova sculpture (35)

Ernest Trova signature

38 catalogued lots by Ernest Trova record a signature line. The most common placement is lower right (50% of lots that state a placement). Most often: signed.

Placement

lower right5
along the bottom2
on the reverse1
on the base1
in the margin1

Form

signed27
signed and dated6
signed in pencil4
monogrammed1

Signed with the artist's monogram and numbered (Artist's Proof IX) to the reverse — Falling Man: Suspended Relief, 1969 Brass and, Circle Auction, Mar 15, 2025
Signed in pencil: Trova 1969 — Untitled, DuMouchelles, Mar 15, 2024
Signed and dated with an edition of 34/75 in the lower right — Falling Man Variant, DuMouchelles, Apr 18, 2025

Ernest Trova signature: all forms and examples →

About Ernest Trova

Ernest Tino Trova was a self-trained American surrealist and pop art painter and sculptor. Best known for his signature image and figure series, 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. Many of Trova's sculptures are cast in unusual white bronze. 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.

From Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.