At first glance, the Marimekko print series, known as "Grandfather’s Garden” (Isoisän puutarha) closely resembles the work of the British illustrator and writer of children's books, Pat Hutchens in the 1968 picture book, "Rosie’s Walk".
Both employ the same so-called naive style and both use patterns created from woodcuts. However one art expert told Yle that the Marimekko print is not a copy of Hutchens’ breakthrough illustrations.
"At a glance, they are amazingly similar, that’s undeniable. But then when you look at them more closely, you notice two different artistic perspectives. The more you look at the details, the more you see the nuances that show that these works come from different perspectives," said art forgery expert Pauliina Laitinen-Laiho.
Marimekko’s website declares that designer Teresa Moorhouse got her inspiration for the pattern from a garden where the owners made honey and where visitors admired the flowerbeds filled with blooming roses.
Marimekko: "We trust Teresa Moorhouse"
"We trust Teresa Moorhouse’s view that she has created her own design "Grandfather’s Garden" from her own starting point and was inspired by her own childhood in the 1970s. In other words from an English garden, which was grandfather’s garden,” explained Marimekko artistic director Minna Kemell-Kutvonen.
Art expert Laitinen-Laiho said that the pieces feature many different details that significantly changed their essential nature.
In spite of her confidence in the Marimekko artists's abilities, Laitinen-Laiho could not say for sure whether or not Moorhouse’s work was influenced by Hutchen’s 1968 picture books.
"It's difficult to say. I could imagine that it’s a well-known book, but this is an original piece of artwork," she said.
Marimekko plans to discuss the item with Moorhouse, although it says it does not believe that the resemblance to another work will lead to any additional action.
"Teresa's pattern is not a copy so I don’t believe anything further will happen," Kemell-Kutvonen concluded.
At the end of May long-time Marimekko designer Kristina Isola admitted to having plagiarised the work of Ukrainian folk artist Maria Primachenko for her design "Forest Dwellers" or "Metsänväki".