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Kathleen Vane

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Kathleen Airini Vane
Born22 January 1891
Wainuiomata
Died9 February 1965
NationalityNew Zealander
Alma materSlade School of Fine Art
Known forLandscapes
SpouseRalph Frederick Vane

Kathleen (Kitty) Airini Vane (née Mair; 22 January 1891 – 1965) was a New Zealand painter who specialised in watercolours and tempera landscape paintings.[1] Many of her paintings can now be found in art museums and galleries all over the world.[2] Her works that remain in New Zealand are included in the collections of the internationally known Sarjeant Gallery, Dunedin Public Art Gallery, Whangārei Museum, Tauranga Art Gallery, Reyburn House (Whangarei) and the New Zealand National (Alexander Turnbull) Archives.[3][4][5][6] Two portraits of Vane are in the collection of the National Portrait Gallery, London.[7]

Biography

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Airini Vane, Trees 1947 - International Art Centre

Vane was born in Wainuiomata, the daughter of Gilbert Mair and Eleanor Katherine (née Sperry) Mair. She had an older brother, John Gilbert, who died in childhood.[5][8][9][10] Her mother, a noted portrait artist, died when she was three years old and she was raised by a Scottish nurse. She attended a private school, Misses Bews' Ladies College in Mt Eden, Auckland and also studied art.

Vane's main artistic passion was painting trees.[11] Later in her artistic career, this would earn her the moniker the 'pōhutukawa lady'.[12] In 1912 she travelled to London, England and studied at the Royal College of Art and the Slade School of Fine Art.[1][13]

During World War I she served as a nurse aide in France. After the war she travelled and painted extensively, exhibiting in London, Paris and Malta. In 1924, her paintings were displayed at the Paris Salon.[14] In 1929, Vane's works were accepted by the Royal Academy of Arts in London.[15]

During World War II she returned to New Zealand. She spent most of wartime in the city of Tauranga, where she voluntered for the Red Cross. Later, she would be honoured with a Queen's Service medal for 40 years of service to the organisation.[16] Vane would leave New Zealand after the war but would return again in 1953, this time to retire.[5] Vane would finish her career as a painter four years later, in 1956 after an accident [17]

She died at Laings Beach (now Langs Beach) near Mangawhai, Northland, in 1965.[5]

Evening, Monterey Cypress, California. 1926 - Sarjeant Gallery

Personal life

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Vane was an avid social figure in London society, often frequenting the High Commission of New Zealand, London alongside fellow New Zealander and author, Jane Mander.[18] She was also part of the farewell party at Westminster Palace Hotel, which sent off Arthur Foljambe, 2nd Earl of Liverpool.[19]

In 1917 she married Ralph Frederick Vane, a son of Lord and Lady Barnard of Raby Castle, England. The ceremony was extensively covered in the London papers. He died in 1928.[13]

References

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  1. ^ a b "Vane, Kathleen Airini, 1891–1965". Vane, Kathleen Airini, 1891–1965 | Items | National Library of New Zealand | National Library of New Zealand. 1 January 1891. Retrieved 5 March 2022.
  2. ^ "Internationally renowned artist's works at Whangārei Museum". NZ Herald. 3 July 2018. Retrieved 2 December 2024.
  3. ^ "Evening, Monterey Cypress, California. 1926". Te Whare o Rehua Sarjeant Gallery. Retrieved 2 December 2024.
  4. ^ "Search Results – Dunedin Public Art Gallery". collection.dunedin.art.museum. Retrieved 5 March 2022.
  5. ^ a b c d "Internationally renowned artist's works at Whangārei Museum". NZ Herald. 3 July 2018. Retrieved 5 March 2022.
  6. ^ "Airini Vane". National Library of New Zealand. Retrieved 3 December 2024.
  7. ^ "Kathleen Airini Vane (née Mair) – National Portrait Gallery". www.npg.org.uk. Retrieved 5 March 2022.
  8. ^ "Like Mother Like Daughter | Exhibitions". Tauranga Art Gallery. Retrieved 5 March 2022.
  9. ^ Taonga, New Zealand Ministry for Culture and Heritage Te Manatu. "Sperrey, Eleanor Catherine". teara.govt.nz. Retrieved 5 March 2022.
  10. ^ "Mair, Gilbert – Biography – Te Ara Encyclopedia of New Zealand". 10 June 2017. Archived from the original on 10 June 2017. Retrieved 5 March 2022.
  11. ^ "Airini Vane". National Library of New Zealand. Retrieved 3 December 2024.
  12. ^ "Airini Vane". National Library of New Zealand. Retrieved 3 December 2024.
  13. ^ a b "Kathleen (Kitty) Airini Vane New Zealand, 1891–1965". Australian and New Zealand Art Sales Digest. Retrieved 6 March 2022.
  14. ^ "Katherine (Kitty) Airini Vane". Jonathan Grant Gallery. Retrieved 1 December 2024.
  15. ^ "Trees by Katherine (Kitty) Airini Vane". International Art Centre. Retrieved 1 December 2024.
  16. ^ "Painting of early Tauranga returns home". SunLive. 17 November 2024. Retrieved 21 November 2024.
  17. ^ "Trees by Katherine (Kitty) Airini Vane". International Art Centre. Retrieved 1 December 2024.
  18. ^ "Our treasures: Internationally renowned artist Kitty Airini Vane paintings at Whangarei Museum". New Zealand Herald. 7 November 2023. Retrieved 1 December 2024.
  19. ^ "Our treasures: Internationally renowned artist Kitty Airini Vane paintings at Whangarei Museum". New Zealand Herald. 7 November 2023. Retrieved 1 December 2024.
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