Born in Westport, CT on Feb. 1, 1855. The Strong family lived in Hawaii until 1858 when they settled in Oakland, CA. Elizabeth began her art studies in San Francisco at the School of Design under Virgil Williams and, during her two years there, won gold and silver medals for her work. In 1879 she sketched on the Monterey Peninsula while sharing a home with her brother Joseph. Through the sales of her pictures of pets of wealthy patrons she was able to save enough money for a lengthy stay in Paris. During the next eight years there she had further study with animal painter Emil van Marcke. Returning to the U.S., she studied at the ASL of NYC under Wm M. Chase (1892-93) and then returned to Paris where she lived until 1905. While there, she ran a small school of her own and exhibited often at the prestigious Paris Salon. From Paris, she returned to California and lived in Berkeley until 1920. After settling on the Monterey Peninsula, she was active in the local art scene until her death in Carmel on Oct. 30, 1941. Since she specialized in paintings of animals (especially bird dogs), she was sometimes called "the Rosa Bonheur of America." Member: SFAA; Sketch Club (SF); Carmel AA (cofounder); Carmel Arts & Crafts Club. Exh: San Francisco Art Association, 1875-1912; Mechanics' Inst. (SF), 1875-79; Calif. Midwinter Expo, 1894; Calif. State Fair, 1894, 1930, 1935; Paris Salon, 1901; Berkeley AA, 1908; Sketch Club, 1909; Alaska-Yukon Expo (Seattle), 1909 (silver medal); Del Monte Art Gallery, 1910. In: Monterey Peninsula Museum.

A woman whose specialty was painting animals in a landscape setting, especially dogs, Elizabeth Strong was born in Hartford, Connecticut, and her father was a Congregational minister. As an infant, she was taken to Hawaii and at age four moved with her family to Oakland, California where she was raised. She studied art at the School of Design in San Francisco with Virgil Williams and won gold and silver medals.

In the 1870s, she studied with William Merritt Chase at the Shinnecock Summer School on Long Island, went briefly to Paris as a student of famed animal painter, Van Marke, and then had a studio in San Francisco. There her patron, Frank M. Pixley, helped her get commissions for dog portraits from prominent local families.

Beginning the 1880s, she spent twenty years in Paris, studying at the Jeune Fille School of Art and exhibiting at the Paris Salon. She spent the remainder of her life on the Monterey Peninsula and became co-founder of the Carmel Art Association.

She exhibited widely including the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, the California State Fairs and the Mark Hopkins Institute.

Source:
Paul Sternberg, "Art by American Women"