Elizabeth McMahon studied at Parsons School of Design before receiving her BFA from Syracuse University in 1973. She was a resident at the Millay Colony in 1981 and had a solo show at the Adam Gimbel Gallery in 1982. Then, she shifted her practice from painting to performance, creating multi-media mobile installations aimed at younger audiences and recordings of original children's songs with a Parent Choice Award winner in 1998. Recent work has returned to the visual format, showing with the Var Gallery, Milwaukee 2020, 64Arts, Illinois 2021, and a virtual solo exhibition facilitated by Roaring Artist Gallery 2022.