The Falk Company

This drawing was rescued from a shed at the Falk Foundry after it spent years hanging in the carpenter’s shop at the Falk facility in the Menomonee Valley. Joe Rondinelli, Lead Designer at Falk, took an interest in the work and its condition and resolved to have the drawing conserved. Following treatment, he also proposed that the work be donated to the Grohmann Museum to ensure its long-term care.
The drawing is the work of F. Otto Becker, a Milwaukee designer and illustrator, perhaps best known for his 1889 depiction of the Battle of Little Bighorn which was used extensively in Anheuser-Busch advertisements at the turn of the century. Becker was part of the great Milwaukee illustrator tradition of the early 20th century; Milwaukee artists and illustrators were in great demand during this era (1900-1920). Becker‘s work stood out among his contemporaries and he was quite successful as a draftsman.
Becker was commissioned by the ‘Falk Company‘ (now known as the Falk Corporation and Foundry, A Division of Rexnord Industries, LLC) to create this bird‘s eye view of the facility as it stood in 1918. While a number of features on the property changed, even more remain the same. Many of the buildings featured in the drawing are still in existence today and comprise the core of Falk‘s operation. The original commission was likely made for producing lithograph prints for industry partners, customers, and perhaps employees.