K Airini Vane was the daughter of Captain Gilbert Mair, a hero of the Maori wars and his wife, the artist Kate Sperry who had studied in Rome. Their daughter was born in Wainuiomata in 1891. As a young woman, the outbreak of war in 1914 saw her nursing in Malta. It was here that she met her solider husband the Hon. Ralph Vane, son of the 9th Baron Of Barnard.

In the 1920s K Airini Vane painted in Tunisia, Canada, USA, Spain, Turkey, Greece, Italy, Monaco and Guatemala. Her work was accepted by the Royal Academy in 1929. The 1930s saw a return to Malta and time spent in both North and South Africa. Returning to New Zealand in 1939 the artist donated proceeds from the sale of her work to the Red Cross and Navy League. During the Second World War K Airini Vane painted and exhibited in New Zealand and Fiji.

Always an inveterate traveller, 1949 saw a return to Europe and North Africa where she worked for a further three years. On her return to New Zealand K Airini vane settled at Langs Beach, Northland. She was a regular exhibitor at the New Zealand Academy of Fine Arts and the Auckland Society of Art until the mid 1950s.

In 1957 K Airini Vane was injured in an accident, sadly ending her career as a successful artist. She died in 1965. She is represented in both public and private collections worldwide.