Editing Elizabeth Thompson (section)

==Early life and education==
Born at the Villa Claremont in [[Lausanne]], [[Restoration and Regeneration in Switzerland|Switzerland]], Butler was the daughter of Thomas James Thompson (1812–1881) and his second wife, Christiana Weller (1825–1910). Her sister was the noted essayist and poet [[Alice Meynell]]. Elizabeth began receiving art instruction in 1862, while growing up in [[Kingdom of Italy|Italy]]. In 1866, she entered the Female School of Art in [[South Kensington]] in London. She began exhibiting her artwork, usually watercolours, as a student. In 1867, one watercolour, ''Bavarian Artillery Going into Action'', was shown at the [[Dudley Museum and Art Gallery|Dudley Gallery]], one of the galleries preferred by women artists. The same year, she exhibited an oil painting, ''Horses in Sunshine'', at the [[Society of Women Artists|Society of Female Artists]].

She became a [[Catholic Church|Roman Catholic]] along with the rest of her family after they moved to [[Florence]] in 1869. While in Florence, under the tutelage of the artist Giuseppe Bellucci (1827–1882), she attended the [[Accademia di Belle Arti di Firenze|Accademia di Belle Arti]]. She signed her works as E.B. (post-1877), Elizth. Thompson, or Mimi Thompson (she was called "Mimi" from her childhood).<ref name="UsherwoodP-LB-bio" /><ref name="SES-ET" /><ref name="TT-LB-Obit" />