Born in
North Shields in 1868 the son of the Reverend Dr
William Salmond he emigrated as a child with his family when his father was appointed the first Professor of Theology at the Theological Hall in
Dunedin. He attended
Otago Boys' High School and was articled to
R.A. Lawson. Through that association he met the artist
George O'Brien in 1888 and left an impression of him. He went into practice on his own account but later formed a partnership with Lawson when the latter returned to Dunedin in 1900. The practice later became Salmond and Vanes. Salmond's work is sober and solid. He used several of the revived styles current at the time, including the
Gothic, the
Classical and the
Baroque, the latter in the Bristol Piano Company building. What his buildings lack in flamboyance they make up in good proportions, sound construction and dignity. Salmond's son Arthur Louis Salmond (1906–1994) went into partnership with him. James Louis Salmond died in Dunedin in 1950, and was buried in
Andersons Bay Cemetery. A number of his close relations had distinguished careers, some in Law and Theology. His grandson Arthur John Salmond (1940–2008) carried on the practice until 2008. Another grandson is Auckland conservation architect
Jeremy Salmond. Salmond's work is included in the Salmond Anderson Architects Records, a
UNESCO New Zealand
Memory of the World archive held at the
Hocken Collections. ==Notes==