This area of the exhibition explores the question of influences.

INFLUENCE OR PLAGIARISM ?

The chair to the left of the table is a traditional Sussex chair which I found, in Sussex, in the 1960's.

The chair to the right, which is widely known as a William Morris chair because Morris and Company made them, is also attributed to Ford Madox Brown.

But, whether it is Morris or Brown who can rightfully claim the design, were they influenced by the Sussex chair or did they plagiarise it?

Interestingly, the Victoria & Albert Museum describes the Morris or Brown chair, in their collection, as a Sussex chair.

As a designer, I find the distinction between influence and plagiarism to be acutely interesting.

To influence or be influenced is a trade of subtle flattery in both directions.

To plagiarise or be plagiarised is to steal or be stolen from.

But the line between the two can be very narrow - can it not?