Ernest Tino Trova, a self-trained St. Louis native, became one of the significant artists of the late twentieth century. Best known for his signature image, the Falling Man , Trova considered his entire output a single "work in progress." A collector of classic American comic character toys, Trova admired their surrealism and used them in some of his pieces. 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 the Laumeier Sculpture Park. With his Falling Man , Ernest Trova created one of the defining artistic images of his time.