Paul Baudier, painter, printmaker, and illustrator, was born in Paris, France, on November 18, 1881. His formal art training began with an apprenticeship under his uncle Edmond Duplessis, an engraver. He then studied at the Académie Julian under Eugène Dété, and took a position as an illustrator for La Vie Illustrée. He participated in his first major exhibition in 1900 at the Salon des Artistes Français where he won an award for his woodengraving, "Portrait of Madame Baudier, Mother." That same year Baudier won the Meilleur Ouvrier de France, a prestigious title awarded to French artisans who demonstrate exceptional skill and craftsmanship. During the first decade of the new century, he also won honorable mention at the Salon des Artistes Français in 1903 and a silver medal at the 1906 Salon.

Just prior to the First World War, Baudier married and moved to Gentilly, where he and his wife started a family. In 1914, he was mobilized by the French Army as war broke out and almost immediately became wounded and taken prisoner by the Germans, remaining for two years in a prisoner-of-war camp. After his release in 1916 he moved his family to Switzerland, where he began a series of works in paint and in print relating to his time as a prisoner, as well as Swiss landscapes that he exhibited in Geneva. 

Baudier continued to visit France, immersing himself in the art world of Paris and Châtillon, becoming a part of the Groupe de Atelier Lachenal. His work was included in the Salon des Artistes Français in 1923. He also became of a member of the Sociéte des Artistes Français, later serving as president. In 1927, he relocated his family to Châtillon and built a studio and gallery where he not only continued working on his personal artwork but began teaching printmaking, as well. After his wife died in 1929, Baudier traveled throughout France to record various villages and cities for Jules Michelet's Tableau de France. This would lead to a variety of suites featuring regions of France and the Swiss Alps, among them his most well-known, La Cite des Eaux, 1946, with accompanying text by Henri de Regnier. He illustrated a variety of publications throughout his career. In 1948 Baudier was awarded the Chevalier des la Légion d'honneur.

Paul Baudier died in Châtillon, France on December 9, 1962.