The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:

Salon \Sa`lon"\, n. [F. See Saloon.]
   1. An apartment for the reception of company; hence, in the
      plural, fashionable parties; circles of fashionable
      society.
      [1913 Webster]

   2. An apartment for the reception and exhibition of works of
      art; hence, an annual exhibition of paintings, sculptures,
      etc., held in Paris by the Society of French Artists; --
      sometimes called the Old Salon.

   New Salon is a popular name for an annual exhibition of
      paintings, sculptures, etc., held in Paris at the Champs
      de Mars, by the Soci['e]t['e] Nationale des Beaux-Arts
      (National Society of Fine Arts), a body of artists who, in
      1890, seceded from the Soci['e]t['e] des Artistes
      Fran[,c]ais (Society of French Artists).
      [Webster 1913 Suppl.]