(Missouri, 1927-2009)

Horizontal Cut Figure, 1970, edition of 6 with 4 in plated bronze and two in plated steel, this possibly unique and made with larger feet, in eight sections, plated bronze, 60 x 11 x 12 in.; with black painted wood plinth, 20-1/8 x 15 x 15 in.

Provenance: Estate of Mrs. Lloyd S. Lloyds, Manhattan, New York and Palm Beach, Florida, purchased from the artist, circa 1970; by descent in the family

Note: According to the Trova Archive, this configuration debuted in a smaller scale in Trova’s 1971 exhibition at Pace Gallery, New York and was eventually produced in editions with 6", 12 ", 24", and 60" figures. Only four of the 60 inch bronze examples (the present lot) are recorded to have been produced with an additional two at the 60” scale made later in stainless steel. This configuration of the Falling Man has the very rare ability to be reconfigured manually by the viewer without the use of tools. This version is unique in that the feet were made to be a bit more stabile and two anchor points are present as it was to be installed on the yacht  Antibes (See Architectural Digest, "Futuristic Decor For Yachting; Ocean Going Urban Elegance" July, 1, 1974, ill., pp 42-45).

In the late 1960s and early 1970s, Ernest Trova was among the most widely acknowledged sculptors working in the United States, resulting in invitations to exhibit in three Whitney Annuals, three Venice Biennales, and Documenta 4 in Kassel, Germany. In 1969 his work was heralded by the New York Times as “among the best of contemporary American sculpture,” and throughout those decades examples of his art were prominently displayed in dozens of major museums including the Museum of Modern Art, the Whitney Museum of American Art, and the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis. Trova’s life-size bronze, Study/Falling Man (Wheelman), once greeted visitors at the Guggenheim’s 5th Avenue entrance, and for more than twenty years he was represented by the estimable Pace Gallery, which inaugurated its first New York space with an exhibition of his work.