Baker first acquired a knowledge of drawing and painting at Hardman & Co.'s studios in Birmingham.
He became a Cistercian monk at Mount St Bernard Abbey, Leicestershire, in 1857, and died there on 11 February 1885.
The Hortus Animæ and Horæ Diurnæ, published in London, and several beautiful works brought out at Mechelin and Tournai, bear witness to his inventive genius.
He also left unpublished The Armorial Bearings of English Cardinals and The Arms of the Cistercian Houses of England.
Cardinals and Heraldry (London: Buckland Publications, 1988) by Mark Turnham Elvins used his illustrations.