Painter, draughtsman, printmaker, potter and teacher, born in Edinburgh where he studied at the College of Art, also studying at the Academy of Art, Reimann School and elsewhere in Berlin. Salmon worked as an artist for several years during World War II for the Ministry of Information, then resumed his full-time teaching career which included principalships of Lincoln School of Art and Croydon College of Art. He was latterly dean of fine arts of the University of Calgary in Alberta, Canada. Salmon was a member of the Society of Industrial Artists with a strong interest in art education, being president of the National Society for Art Education and chairman of the Association of Art Institutions. He exhibited RSA, RSW, SSA, RA and in Germany.