Elizabeth Keith was a shin hanga artist of Scottish descent, born on April 30, 1887, in Aberdeenshire, England. Keith first traveled to Japan in 1915 with the intention of visiting relatives for a brief period. During her stay, however, she was so profoundly influenced by the cultural exoticism of Japan that she remained for an additional nine years, traversing the interior of the Asian continent. 

Keith visited areas of Japan, Korean, mainland China, and the Philippine Islands, producing oil paintings and watercolor prints at her leisure. Upon her return to Japan in 1920, she mounted an exhibition of watercolors and was subsequently discovered by noted publisher Watanabe Shozaburo. Convinced of her talent, he urged Keith to translate her work, East Gate, Seoul by Moonlight, into a hanga print. Such a professional connection proved to be a great boon for Keith's career. She went on to produce a variety of hanga under Watanabe's supervision and became a highly successful print artist in Japan. From 1919 to 1922, Watanabe produced twenty-eight prints by Keith, dealing with scenes of old Korea and parts of Southeast Asia. Her reputation as an artist continued to expand as later prints were also featured at the Royal Academy and Beaux Arts Gallery back home in Europe. 

Critically acclaimed both at home and abroad, Keith was at the pinnacle of her artistic career,  yet she hungered for a challenge, a new medium to master. She took up color etching in 1926 and 1927 and throughout the 1930s studied printing techniques under Yoshida Hiroshi. Soon afterward, she was elected as a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts in 1934 for her outstanding achievements in social progress and artistic development. Upon her return to Japan, Keith reinstituted her working relationship with Watanabe and held a solo show in Tokyo in 1956 featuring fifty-nine woodblock prints and eight color etchings. 

After a long and successful career, she returned to England and passed away in 1956 at the age of sixty-nine. Most notable among her works are the travel accounts Eastern Windows, 1928, and Old Korea, 1946.