Born on June 28, 1895 in Croyden, Surrey, England the daughter of Walter Barker and Mary Eleanor Oswald. Her father came from a long line of wood carvers. And while Walter Barker may have gained local recognition for his skill, Cicely, showed from a very early age an innate talent, spending hours each day drawing and painting. Because she had epilepsy as a child, she was handled with loving care by her parents who tended to "overprotect" her way into adulthood. This in a way may have contributed to her understanding and portrayal of children in her artwork. This illness suddenly disappeared after WWI and is said to never have returned.

Because of the epilepsy, Ms. Barker was educated at home by governesses. She also studied art by correspondence, until at least 1919. At which point she was enrolled in an evening class at the Croyden School of Art at the age of thirteen. She attended courses here through the 1940’s, eventually earning a teaching position there.

Cicely M. Barker's professional carreer began at the age of 15, when her father took examples of her work to the publisher Raphael Tuck. These examples were bought and sold as postcards. The following year, she won second prize in a poster competition run by the Croyden Art Society. She was soon elected to life membership in the Society, becoming its youngest member.

Barker credots the Pre-Raphaelites painters for being her greatest influence. She is quoted as stating, "I am very much interested in the Pre-Raphaelites. I have been, all my life, and I’ve tried to see as much of their work as I possibly can. . . . I am to some extent influenced by them—not in any technical sense, but in the choice of subject-matter and the feeling and atmosphere they could achieve."

Best-known today for her ‘Flower Fairy’ books, they arose out of her love and knowledge of plants and flowers. At the time, fairy themes were very much in vogue as they represented a simpler, more innocent time before the harsh realities of the industrial revolution and scientific ages. Baker mixed her love of children, flora and fairies into her Flower Fairy works. Starting with her first volume in 1923, she created, illustrated and wrote poetry for 7 of these works. Although very popular now, Her Flower Fairies of the Winter book was not written by her in her lifetime. In 1985, long after her death, it was complied by illustrations and poems from her other books.

Although she revealed in the world of the unseen, she was a devout Christian and she created postcards and greeting cards for the Society for Promoting Chrisitan Knowledge, the Girls'Friendly Society and the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel. Further, she created paintings for churches and often donated paintings to raise money for Chirstian causes.

Cicely M. Barker continued painting until her eyesight began to fail. She died on February 16, 1973 at the age of 77 years old