An artwork showing a historic Tauranga Harbour and Mauao in the 1940s – which was painted on The Elms lawn during World War II – has been repatriated to the historic building for all to see.

Marooned in Tauranga during the war, artist Airini Vane painted ‘The Mission House Garden' in 1942.

The painting, which ended up in an art gallery down south, has finally 'come home” to Tauranga via long-term loan between The Elms Te Papa and Invercargill Public Art Gallery.

The Elms Foundation general manager Andrew Gregg says the arrangement has been facilitated by former Tauranga Art Gallery director Penelope Jackson.

'Kathleen Airini Vane was the daughter of Captain Gilbert Mair and Kate Sperrey, a noted portraitist and friend of the Maxwell family who inherited The Elms property in 1887.”

Penelope, who first set eyes on the artwork in 2007, says it's wonderful to finally see it on display in The Elms 'and I just really hope people go and see it – because this an amazing piece of our history”.

Penelope says there are four key reasons that the painting's repatriation to Tauranga is so important.

Painted in the gardens

'First, it was painted from the gardens of The Elms, the Mission Station, so it's a local image. It looks across Tauranga Harbour and you can see the end of Matakana [island] and Mauao on the right.

'So it's anchored in our region – but it's also a record of an earlier Tauranga – today this whole area of our city is developed. So it's a really significant visual history of part of our region.”

‘The Mission House Garden' painted by Airini Vane in 1942 in the drawing room of the Mission House at The Elms Te Papa. Photo: Supplied.

Penelope says the artist herself, Airini Vane, is also significant to Tauranga.

'Her maiden name was Mair. Her mother was Eleanor Catherine Sperrey – known as Kate – she had her own studio at Lambton Quay at the end of WWII, she was a very gifted portrait painter. You can see examples of her work in The Elms.

'That was Airini's mother, art was in her genes. Airini's father was Captain Gilbert Mair – of the Land Wars, which are part of The Elms' history.”

Kathleen Kirkby

Penelope says the person who acquired the painting in the 1940s and took it to Invercargill was Kathleen Kirkby.

'Kathleen herself really important to Tauranga because she lived here for 55 years and was a devoted Red Cross worker. She was given the Queen's Service medal for her 40 years' service.

'Kathleen's maiden name was Anderson, and she came from a house called Anderson Park. The first time I went there – you drive around the corner and see this 1924 house and it's like something out of Jane Austin. That was her family home.”

Penelope says Kathleen had a good art collection of NZ and European artists.

'When she died, her nephews sent her art collection back to the house Anderson Park because it was an art gallery.

'That's where I first saw this work from Airini Vane and came across Kathleen Kirkby,” says Penelope, who'd visited Invercargill as Tauranga Art Gallery's curator on a research trip.

After this Penelope negotiated for Airini's painting to be brought to Tauranga to the gallery for three exhibitions.

'We borrowed this painting three times for three different exhibitions. So three times it made the journey back and forth to Tauranga.

'In the back of my mind, over the years, I kept thinking: ‘Wouldn't it be wonderful to try and get this work back here, to repatriate it to where I think it belongs?' And of course, you couldn't get anywhere more fitting than The Elms because that is where it was painted from.”

Interesting person

Penelope says Airini Vane was an interesting person.

'Airini was actually marooned here during WWII – so a lot of her work from that period was created here.

'She married the honourable Ralph Vane in London in 1917, and then travelled extensively.”

She painted at every opportunity. '

They had a castle in Wales, they toured the world, she had one of the first home movie cameras...she had an amazing life for that time period.”

It took most of 2022 to orchestrate the loan agreement, which Penelope thinks is worth it since she believes the artwork means more to our community here in Tauranga than it does in Invercargill.

'People can now stand out on the lawn [at The Elms] and check out that view – and compare it to Airini's painting back in 1942.”

‘The Mission House Garden' is displayed in the drawing room of the Mission House at The Elms Te Papa.