Elizabeth Eaton Burton was born in Paris, France on January 20, 1869. The daughter of artist Charles F. Eaton and Helen Justice Mitchell, Elizabeth was raised in an artistic milieu. An apt pupil of her father's her only formal training was in drawing. Living in Paris when Elizabeth was born, the Eaton family left France for the U.S. and settled in Santa Barbara, California in 1886, after Elizabeth's health began to decline due to the climate. It was here that her father began to establish himself as an arts and crafts designer, working in metal, leather, and glass, all of which he introduced to his daughter.

From a relatively young age Elizabeth began working in these mediums, and began to exhibit along with her father in various arts and crafts shows in southern California. In 1893 she married Wm. W. Burton, and gave birth to son Phillip.  In 1897, daughter Helen was born and not long after, Elizabeth opened her first studio. By 1901 she had shown in New York and California, and her pieces gained notice by important collectors and socialites; in 1909 she received her first medal at the Alaska-Yukon Pacific Exposition in Seattle. She then opened a studio in the Blanchard Bldg in Los Angeles, and in 1920 furthered her studies in Paris. In 1933 she returned to Los Angeles after a two-year tour and exhibitions in Peking, Shanghai, London, and NYC. A versatile artist and an exponent of Arts and Crafts, she made color woodcuts, watercolors, bookbindings, tooled leather décor and equestrian detailing, lamps and stained glass.

Elizabeth Eaton Burton died in Los Angeles, California on 15 November 1937.