 = <unk> Mary Barker = 
 
 <unk> Mary Barker ( 28 June 1895 – 16 February 1973 ) was an English illustrator best known for a series of fantasy illustrations depicting fairies and flowers . Barker 's art education began in girlhood with correspondence courses and instruction at the Croydon School of Art . Her earliest professional work included <unk> cards and juvenile magazine illustrations , and her first book , Flower Fairies of the Spring , was published in 1923 . Similar books were published in the following decades . 
 Barker was a devout Anglican , and donated her artworks to Christian fundraisers and missionary organizations . She produced a few Christian @-@ themed books such as The Children ’ s Book of Hymns and , in collaboration with her sister Dorothy , He Leadeth Me . She designed a stained glass window for St. Edmund 's Church , Pitlake , and her painting of the Christ Child , The Darling of the World Has Come , was purchased by Queen Mary . 
 Barker was equally proficient in <unk> , pen and ink , oils , and <unk> . Kate Greenaway and the Pre @-@ <unk> were the principal influences on her work . She claimed to paint instinctively and rejected artistic theories . Barker died in 1973 . Though she published Flower Fairy books with spring , summer , and autumn themes , it wasn 't until 1985 that a winter collection was assembled from her remaining work and published posthumously . 
 
 = = Biography = = 
 
 
 = = = Early life = = = 
 
 Barker was born the second daughter and youngest child of Walter Barker , a partner in a seed supply company and an amateur artist , and his wife Mary Eleanor ( Oswald ) Barker on 28 June 1895 at home at 66 Waddon Road in Croydon , Surrey , England . Barker was an <unk> as a child , and cared for at home by her parents . Later , her sister and elder by two years , Dorothy Oswald Barker , continued the care . 
 The family of four was moderately well off , and belonged to the lower end of the upper middle class . A <unk> , a governess , and a cook to prepare special meals for Barker were hired . She spent much time in bed at home amusing herself with painting books and a nursery library that included the works of Kate Greenaway and Randolph Caldecott – two artists who exerted strong influences on her later art . 
 
 = = = Art education and first professional work = = = 
 
 Barker took correspondence courses in art , probably until about 1919 . In 1908 at 13 years , she entered an evening class at the Croydon School of Art , and attended the school into the 1940s . In time , she received a teaching position . 
 In 1911 , Raphael Tuck & Sons bought four of Barker 's " little drawings " for half a sovereign , and published them as postcards . In October 1911 , she won second prize in the Croydon Art Society 's poster competition , and shortly afterward was elected the youngest member of the Society . The art critic for the Croydon Advertiser remarked , " Her drawings show a remarkable freedom of spirit . She has distinct promise . " 
 Following her father ’ s death in June 1912 , the seventeen @-@ year @-@ old Barker submitted art and poetry to My Magazine , Child ’ s Own , Leading <unk> , and Raphael Tuck <unk> in an effort to support both her mother and sister . Her sister Dorothy taught kindergarten in two private schools before opening a kindergarten at home . She brought in some money for the family 's support while supervising the household . 
 
 = = = Flower Fairies of the Spring , 1923 = = = 
 
 Fairies became a popular theme in art and literature in the early 20th century following the releases of The Coming of the Fairies by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle , Peter Pan by <unk> <unk> , and the fairy @-@ themed work of Australian Ida <unk> <unk> . Queen Mary made such themes even more popular by sending <unk> postcards to friends during the 1920s . In 1918 , Barker produced a <unk> series depicting elves and fairies . 
 In 1923 , Barker sent her flower fairy paintings to various publishers . Blackie paid £ 25 for 24 paintings with accompanying verses , but it wasn 't until publication of Flower Fairies of the Summer in 1925 that Barker received royalties for her work . Mary <unk> Clayton Calthrop , wife of author Dion Clayton Calthrop , wrote in April 1925 about Barker and Flower Fairies of the Spring : " She has such exquisite taste , besides <unk> . " 
 
 = = = The Waldrons = = = 
 
 In 1924 , the family moved into a four @-@ level , semi @-@ detached Victorian house at 23 The Waldrons . Barker had a studio built in the garden and her sister conducted a kindergarten in a room at the back of the house . The family lived <unk> and attended both St. Edmund 's and St. Andrew 's in Croydon – " low " churches for the less privileged . Barker sometimes incorporated portraits of her fellow parishioners in her religious works . She was described by Canon Ingram Hill as " one of the pillars " of St. Andrew 's . 
 The children in the kindergarten modelled for the Flower Fairies until the kindergarten closed in 1940 . In an interview in 1958 , Barker said , " My sister ran a kindergarten and I used to borrow her students for models . For many years I had an atmosphere of children about me – I never <unk> it . " She also painted the children of relatives as well as Gladys <unk> , the <unk> ' young housekeeper , who posed for the Primrose Fairy in 1923 . The plants were painted from life , and if a specimen was not readily at hand , <unk> Gardens staff would provide her the specimens needed . Barker designed and built the Flower Fairy costumes , and based each on the flowers and leaves of the particular plant to be illustrated . The costumes were kept in a trunk in her studio along with wings made of twigs and <unk> . Each was broken down after an illustration was completed and the parts recycled for other costumes . She often referred to Dion Clayton Calthrop 's English Costume . 
 
 = = = Middle years = = = 
 
 In the late 1920s , Barker began to doubt she was doing enough for the church and considered focusing solely on sacred works . Family and friends recommended she continue secular and sacred works , which she did . 
 Barker continued to attend evening classes at the Croydon Art School between the 1920s and the 1940s , eventually receiving a teaching position . She took <unk> trips to <unk> and Storrington in Sussex and to Cornwall and the southern coast with family and friends . She visited and stayed with artist Margaret <unk> in <unk> , Surrey and with family in <unk> , Near Whitby , North Yorkshire . 
 In 1940 , the Barker 's live @-@ in maid retired , and Dorothy Barker closed her school at the back of the house in The Waldrons . She continued to supervise the household , and to give both her mother and sister the care they needed . Dorothy and her sister collaborated upon only two books : Our Darling 's First Book and the Christian @-@ themed , He Leadeth Me . In 1954 Dorothy Barker died of a heart attack . Barker was unable to pursue her art to any significant extent following her sister 's death , as all the care of her aged mother devolved upon her , but she did manage to begin planning a stained glass window design in her sister 's memory for St. Edmund 's , Pitlake . 
 
 = = = Later life and death = = = 
 
 Barker 's mother died in 1960 , and , in 1961 , Barker moved from 23 The Waldrons to 6 <unk> Avenue in Croydon . She restored a <unk> in Storrington , Sussex , England , bequeathed by her friend Edith Major , and named it St. Andrew 's . After taking up residence , her health began to deteriorate . She was in and out of nursing and <unk> homes , and tended by relatives and friends . 
 Barker died at Worthing Hospital on 16 February 1973 , aged 77 years . Two funeral services were held – one in Storrington Church and one in Barker 's <unk> . Her ashes were scattered in Storrington churchyard . In 1989 , Frederick Warne , a division of Penguin Books since 1983 , acquired the Flower Fairies properties . 
 
 = = Art = = 
 
 Barker worked principally in <unk> with pen @-@ and @-@ ink , but she was equally competent in black @-@ and @-@ white , in oils , and in <unk> . She carried a <unk> with her for capturing interesting children . She once indicated , " I have always tried to paint instinctively in a way that comes naturally to me , without any real thought or attention to artistic theories . " 
 Kate Greenaway was a childhood favorite and an influence on her art . Barker 's child subjects wear nostalgic clothing as Greenaway 's children do , though Barker 's children are less melancholy and less flat in appearance , due perhaps to advances in printing technology . Barker studied flowers with an analytical eye and was friend to children 's illustrator , Margaret <unk> . Along with Greenaway , illustrator Alice B. Woodward also influenced Barker 's work . 
 The Pre @-@ <unk> were a strong , lifelong influence on Barker . She once indicated , " 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 . " She admitted a fondness for the early paintings of John Everett Millais and " the wonderful things " of Edward <unk> @-@ Jones . 
 
 = = = Depictions of children = = = 
 
 Barker 's sketches , drawings , and paintings of children were given to friends or to the parents of the subjects , donated to charitable institutions and church sponsored events , or exhibited through various art organizations . She illustrated magazine covers , dust jackets , and produced series of postcards for Raphael Tuck and other publishers such as <unk> Children of the Allies ( 1915 ) , Seaside <unk> ( 1918 ) , and Shakespeare 's Boy and Girl Characters ( 1917 , 1920 ) . Her own Old Rhymes for All Times ( 1928 ) and The Lord of the Rushie River ( 1938 ) , a tale about a girl who lives among <unk> on a <unk> , were critically well received . Set about 1800 , Groundsel and Necklaces ( 1943 ) tells of a girl named Jenny who rescues her family from poverty through the agency of the fairies . The story features an old <unk> @-@ like man called Mr. <unk> and <unk> suggests a <unk> social consciousness . Simon the Swan , intended as a sequel to Rushie River was outlined in 1943 with Groundsel , but only developed in 1953 . It was published posthumously in 1988 and is critically considered less successful than Groundsel . 
 
 = = = Christian @-@ themed works = = = 
 
 Barker was a devout Christian , and produced religious @-@ themed works throughout her life . She published eight postcards and five guardian angel birthday cards for the Society for <unk> Christian Knowledge in 1916 and in 1923 respectively . Christmas cards were designed for The Girls ' Friendly Society over a 20 @-@ year period , and the first three designs sold out a combined printing of 46 @,@ 500 in 1923 . An original design for the society called The Darling of the World Has Come was purchased by Queen Mary for ₤ 5 @.@ 5 @.@ 0 in 1926 . The Croydon Art Society hung Barker 's booklet cover design for the Society for the <unk> of the Gospel in its November 1919 exhibition . 
 Religious @-@ themed books include The Children 's Book of Hymns ( 1929 ) and He Leadeth Me ( 1933 ) , the latter written in collaboration with her sister . Major religious works include the <unk> in oil , The Feeding of the Five Thousand ( 1929 ) , for the chapel in Llandaff House , a home for destitute women at Penarth , Wales , and The Parable of the Great Supper ( 1934 ) for St. George 's Chapel , Waddon . The Feeding has since disappeared , and only a black @-@ and @-@ white photograph dated 1929 <unk> the work . In 1941 , she completed oil panels on the subject of the seven sacraments for the baptismal font at St. Andrew 's , South Croydon . She designed baptismal rolls for the wall behind the font in 1948 and 1962 . In 1946 , she completed the 4 x 7 <unk> oil painting , Out of Great <unk> , for the Memorial Chapel of <unk> Methodist Church . Following the death of her sister in 1954 , Barker began designs for a stained glass memorial window depicting Christ preparing to wash the feet of his disciples . Her last religious @-@ themed work , it was installed in St. Edmund 's , Pitlake , in 1962 . 
 
 = = Works = = 
 
 
 = = = Cards = = = 
 
 <unk> Children of the Allies ; J. Salmon , 1916 
 National Mission ; Society for the Preservation of Christian Knowledge , 1916 
 Shakespeare 's Boy Characters ; C. W. Faulkner , 1917 
 Shakespeare 's Girl Characters ; C. W. Faulkner , 1920 
 Seaside Holiday ; J. Salmon , 1918 , 1921 
 <unk> and Fairies ; S. Harvey , 1918 
 Guardian Angel ; Society for the Preservation of Christian Knowledge , 1923 
 Christmas cards ; Girls ' Friendly Society , 1920s , 1930s 
 Christmas cards ( US ) ; Barton @-@ Colton , 1920s , 1930s 
 Beautiful Bible Pictures ; Blackie , 1932 
 
 = = = Books = = = 
 
 Flower Fairies of the Spring ; Blackie , 1923 
 Spring Songs with Music ; Blackie , 1923 
 Flower Fairies of the Summer ; Blackie , 1925 
 Child <unk> in Picture and Verse ( by M. K. <unk> ) ; Blackie , 1925 
 Flower Fairies of the Autumn ; Blackie , 1926 
 Summer Songs with Music ; Blackie , 1926 
 The Book of the Flower Fairies ; Blackie , 1927 
 Autumn Songs with Music ; Blackie , 1927 
 Old Rhymes for All Times ; Blackie , 1928 
 The Children ’ s Book of Hymns ; Blackie , 1929 ; <unk> . 1933 
 Our Darling ’ s First Book ( written in collaboration with Dorothy Barker ) ; Blackie , 1929 
 The Little Picture Hymn Book ; Blackie , 1933 
 Rhymes New and Old ; Blackie , 1933 
 A Flower Fairy Alphabet ; Blackie , 1934 
 A Little Book of Old Rhymes ; Blackie , 1936 
 He Leadeth Me ( written in collaboration with Dorothy Barker ) ; Blackie , 1936 
 A Little Book of Rhymes New and Old ; Blackie , 1937 
 The Lord of the Rushie River ; Blackie , 1938 
 Flower Fairies of the Trees ; Blackie , 1940 
 When Spring <unk> In at the Window ; Blackie , 1942 
 A Child ’ s Garden of <unk> ( Robert Louis Stevenson ) ; Blackie , 1944 
 Flower Fairies of the Garden ; Blackie , 1944 
 Groundsel and Necklaces ; Blackie , 1946 ; reprinted as Fairy Necklaces 
 Flower Fairies of the <unk> ; Blackie , 1948 
 Flower Fairies of the Flowers and Trees ; Blackie , 1950 
 Lively Stories ; Macmillan , 1954 
 The Flower Fairy Picture Book ; Blackie , 1955 
 Lively Numbers ; Macmillan , 1957 
 Lively Words ; Macmillan , 1961 . 
 The Sand , the Sea and the Sun ; Gibson , 1970 
 
 = = = = <unk> published = = = = 
 
 Flower Fairies of the Winter ; Blackie , 1985 
 Simon the Swan ; Blackie , 1988 
 Flower Fairies of the Seasons ; <unk> / Blackie , 1988 
 A Little Book of <unk> and Hymns ; Frederick Warne , 1994 
 A Flower Fairies Treasury ; Frederick Warne , 1997 
 <unk> ; Frederick Warne , 2005 
 Wild Cherry Makes A Wish ; ( collaboration with <unk> Le <unk> ) Frederick Warne , 2006 
 How to find Flower Fairies ; Frederick Warne , 2007 
 Return to <unk> ; Frederick Warne , 2008 
 
 = = = Book covers = = = 
 
 A New Epiphany ; Society for the Preservation of Christian Knowledge , 1919 
 43 <unk> ; Blackie , 1920s , 1930s 
 
 = = = Religious works = = = 
 
 St. Cecily 's Garden ; 1920 
 <unk> roll design ; St. Edmund 's , Pitlake , 1922 
 Banner design ; St. Mary 's , <unk> , 1923 
 The Feeding of the Five Thousand ; <unk> <unk> , chapel at Penarth , Wales ; 1929 
 The Parable of the Great Supper ; <unk> , St. George 's chapel , Waddon 
 The Seven <unk> ; baptismal font panels , St. Andrew 's , Croydon 
 St. John the Baptist ; central banner panel , <unk> church , 1943 
 <unk> , sword , and shield ; mount for a list of men and woman serving in the Forces , St. Andrews , Croydon , 1943 
 <unk> rolls ; St. Andrews , Croydon , 1948 , 1962 
 The font in St Andrew 's Church , South Croydon 
 Out of Great <unk> ; memorial chapel , <unk> <unk> church , 1948 
 I Am Among You As He That <unk> ; stained glass window design , St. Edmund 's , Pitlake , 1962 
 
 