Barrett was born in Guthrie, Oklahoma on December 11, 1897.

[1] He studied at the Broadmoor Art Academy (now the Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center).

He taught at the Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center from 1938 through 1952.

[1] Barrett died in Colorado Springs in 1973.

[7] He created lithographs with Howard Cook,[8] George Biddle[9] and Adolf Arthur Dehn.