Elizabeth Hunter was born in Bristol and studied at the West of England Academy. 

After distinguished post-graduate studies at the Slade, University College, London, Elizabeth moved to Cornwall and lived in St Ives during the late 50s and early 60s. She was elected to membership of the Penwith and Newlyn Societies and showed widely in the Penwith area and West Country. With a solo exhibition at the Arnolfini, Bristol in 1963. 

Elizabeth curated the Newlyn Art Gallery, with her husband David Coad 1964-66. 

from 1984-2001, she worked as a lecturer in Life Drawing and Painting at the School of Art & Design, Queen's Road, Bristol. 

Elizabeth shows locally in the West Country, with recent solo exhibitions at the Art Garden and River Station, Bristol. 

At the beginning of 2003 a longing to get back to her creative roots has prompted her return to Cornwall.