Elizaveta Bёm never created large paintings like Repin, Shishkin, or Aivazovsky, nor was she part of any group of wanderers, but despite this, she gained immense recognition in Russia and was considered one of the best artists of the empire. Elizaveta Merkuryevna spent her childhood in the village of Shcheptsovo in the Poshekhonsky district of the Yaroslavl province, where she developed a love for Russian village culture. After graduating from the Drawing School in St. Petersburg, Bёm began her career with illustrations for Nekrasov's works, depicting scenes from peasant life, which she knew well. Her works were so successful that she was invited to design works by Tolstoy and Leskov. She also published her works in the famous magazine 'Niva.'

True fame came to her when she began creating designs for glassware. In 1893, a World Exhibition was planned in Chicago, and Russia was preparing its pavilion. However, the leadership of the Russian delegation did not know how best to present the unique tableware. They then turned to Elizaveta Merkuryevna. She pondered for a long time on how to best showcase the fragile items and ultimately decided to paint the glass in the traditional Russian village style. Ancient Slavic patterns, snowflakes, images of Zmey Gorynych, and heroes appeared on bottles, glasses, cups, and tankards. The design turned out to be a masterpiece. The artist approached her work with humor and originally signed some items: 'tea, coffee not to my taste, if only vodka in the morning,' 'drank in joy, drowned in sorrow,' 'hello little glasses, how have you been, were you waiting for me?'. For her efforts, she later received a gold medal at the world exhibitions.

Her drawings were adored by children. The festive postcards, depicting children sledding, dragging home a large Christmas tree, baking Easter cakes, and much more, were particularly vibrant. By the way, it was Elizaveta Bёm's illustrations that decorated the first colored alphabet for toddlers in Russia.