author
Elisabeth Goldsmith
b. 1860
Best known for writing about the meaning of symbols in art and religion, this early 20th-century author explored how images, signs, and traditions carry ideas across cultures. Her books still appeal to readers curious about mythology, Christian iconography, and the hidden language of visual art.
1 Audiobook
Sacred symbols in art
by Elisabeth Goldsmith
About the author
Born in 1860, Elisabeth Goldsmith — also published as Elizabeth Edwards Goldsmith and Elizabeth E. Goldsmith — wrote works on symbolism, mythology, and religious art. Library and archive records connect her with books including Sacred Symbols in Art and Ancient Pagan Symbols.
Her writing focused on explaining the meanings attached to recurring images and emblems, especially in Christian art and older pagan traditions. Ancient Pagan Symbols was presented as a companion volume to a larger work called Life Symbols, showing her continuing interest in the way symbols shape belief, storytelling, and artistic tradition.
Reliable biographical details about her life are limited in the sources available here, but her surviving books suggest a writer deeply interested in interpretation, visual culture, and the history behind familiar sacred and mythic forms.