A native of Columbia, South Carolina, Robin Salmon has been on the staff of Brookgreen Gardens, America’s first public sculpture garden, located in Murrells Inlet, South Carolina since 1975. As the Vice President of Art and Historical Collections and Curator of Sculpture, she oversees the acquisition, documentation, exhibition, and conservation of Brookgreen’s art, history, library, and archives collections and the activities of the Carroll A. Campbell, Jr. Center for American Sculpture, bringing prominent sculptors to Brookgreen annually for residencies, lectures, and workshops. She is a graduate of the University of South Carolina and the Museum Management Institute.
Robin Salmon has curated more than 165 gallery exhibitions and traveling exhibitions including those of Brookgreen Gardens and the National Sculpture Society. She has been an elected Allied Professional Member of the National Sculpture Society since 1991, serves on its board of directors, chairs its Exhibitions Committee, and is Co-Editor of its magazine, Sculpture Review. She serves on the National Advisory Council of the Ann Norton Sculpture Gardens in West Palm Beach, Florida and on the Council of Advisors of the Women’s Suffrage National Monument Foundation in Washington, DC.
In the field of medallic art, she has been involved with the creation of Brookgreen Gardens’ series of medals since 1977 and has directed the 49-year-old program since 2002. Salmon has developed Brookgreen’s collection of American medallic art during her tenure and created exhibitions pertaining to the art of the medal. She also serves on the Citizens Coinage Advisory Committee of the United States Mint, selecting designs for the nation’s circulating and commemorative coins and medals.
In 2007, Robin Salmon received the National Sculpture Society’s Sculpture House Award given for outstanding service to American figurative sculpture. She was the 2018 recipient of the Gari Melchers Memorial Medal given by the Artists’ Fellowship of New York City for materially furthering the interests of the fine arts profession. In 2022, she received the Medal of Honor of the National Sculpture Society in recognition of her outstanding support of the field of American Sculpture and Sculptors through her work as a professional curator, historian, archivist, writer, and editor. She has served on panels of the National Endowment for the Arts, American Alliance of Museums, Southeastern Museums Conference, South Carolina Federation of Museums, and on juries for museums, galleries, and art organizations.
Locally, Robin Salmon is President of the board of directors of the Georgetown County Museum and is a member of the planning committee of the Georgetown County Women’s Hall of Fame. She has been a nominee for the Elizabeth O’Neill Verner Award, South Carolina’s highest honor in the arts, and is nationally known for her knowledge of American art, history, and outdoor sculpture conservation.
She is the author of five books on the collections of Brookgreen Gardens, a co-author of seven other books on art and history subjects, and she has written numerous essays and articles for exhibit catalogues, magazines, and other publications.
