Elizabeth was born in London in 1881 to John Archibald Douglas and Mary Anne McLachlan.

[2] She studied art history and archaeology and subsequently went to Rome for research.

Van Buren initially specialized in ancient terracottas used as siding for archaic buildings in Italy and Greece.

Her numerous publications on artefacts and iconography from Mesopotamia were described as "indispensable works of reference".

[2] Elizabeth died in 1961, and was buried in the Parte Antica of the Protestant Cemetery, Rome.