Well known as a collector of Canadian art and as an art historian, David Silcox was recently awarded the Order of Canada.
Make connections and keep in touch with people in your field, advises David Silcox, president of Sotheby's Canada, an international arts auction house.
"Every job I've ever had came through lunch or dinner," Mr. Silcox says. "I was offered a job with the Canada Council in 1965 over lunch, then as associate dean of Fine Arts at York University in 1970 over dinner. I was on my own for a while, but then in 1983, after another dinner, I ended up as assistant deputy minister of Culture for the old federal Department of Communications in Ottawa.
"Next, after another lunch in 1986, I ended up as the deputy minister of Culture and Communications at Queen's Park for five years. When I was asked, over a pleasant lunch, if I would like to run Sotheby's Canada, it took me about 10 seconds to say yes. I've worked at this job for nine years now, longer than anywhere else in my life."
Making connections to get ahead wasn't part of any specific strategy, Mr. Silcox says - far from it. It was more a matter of good luck and timing. He believes it's just human nature for people to contact people they already know.
"What's interesting is that I never got any of the jobs I actually applied for," says Mr. Silcox, 73. "So it told me something about how the world works. It's who you know, but also that you need to be in touch with people and active in your field doing something that others notice. If you're not seeing people, they don't know you're around."
Mr. Silcox says he's always done things that he has enjoyed doing. After accepting the Canada Council job and working with artists, he thought that this was what he was made to do.
"It's always astonished me that I get paid to do these things," he says. "I can't tell the difference between work and not working."
Born in Moose Jaw, Sask., Mr. Silcox grew up in Sudbury and Brampton, Ont. His father was a United Church minister, so the family moved a lot.
He recalls that there wasn't a lot of art in the house, just a few reproductions and a few etchings. As a kid, he liked to doodle cartoon characters, but his real passion for art and art exhibitions developed later at the University of Toronto's Hart House student centre and at Massey College when he started writing articles about art.
He is a well known collector of Canadian art and art historian. His books on Tom Thomson (with artist Harold Town), David B. Milne and The Group of Seven have all won awards. Mr. Silcox was recently awarded the Order of Canada for his work in visual arts.
As president of Sotheby's Canada, Mr. Silcox is responsible for finding and consigning paintings for the auction house's two annual Canadian auctions, in the spring and fall.
It sounds simple enough, Mr. Silcox says, but actually finding art is tricky. It involves chasing down people who think they might have something and talking to people about their friends. Paintings tend to change hands over a generation - about every 20 years or so, he says. The second part is to put together the sale and find purchasers.
So what does it take to pull off a great art auction?
"Get good property, market it and advertise it properly - that part is straightforward and something we're good at," Mr. Silcox says. "Finding a story for a painting is good. When there's a story behind it, people get excited about it and it gets reported in the press."
All those connections don't hurt, either.