Her father Alexander Nasmyth and six of her siblings—Jane, Barbara, Margaret, Anne, Charlotte, and Patrick—were all notable artists.

[1] The Terrys lived in London at 9 Devonshire Street, Portland Place, where Elizabeth stored unsold paintings and helped her father to organise his affairs.

Daniel Terry died after a long illness and financial troubles on 12 June 1829.

[1] Elizabeth continued with her painting throughout her first marriage, sending works to the British Institution from 1816 to 1829.

Her style is perhaps the coldest and least painterly of the Nasmyth sisters; a rare signed example is Driving Cattle by a Loch, now in a private collection.