John A. Hays
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Deputy Chairman, Christie’s, North and South America
Having been with Christie’s auction house for more than
20 years, John Hays is involved in developing business
strategies for the sale of top American art collections. Hays
joined Christie’s in 1983, and ever since has played an instrumental
role in bringing innovation and record-setting sales
to the field of American furniture and folk art. In addition to
being Deputy Chairman, he is Principal Auctioneer and oversees
the age-old practice of buying and selling things of value
and interest for collectors. Mr. Hays has orchestrated and
presided over a record-breaking series of Americana sales.
How does an all-American boy end up selling to the eclectic
and elite collectors of the world? He set his mind to it.
John A. Hays
You Can Do Anything If You Set Your Mind to It
If you know you can get out from the bottom—you won’t be
afraid to try your moves on the top.
Iwas lucky. I came from a family that believed their children
could do anything they wanted—no matter how unrealistic
the idea or far-fetched it sounded. In some ways this made it
difficult, as we really believed we could do anything and for
a brief moment I thought I would like to be a sculptor. But
looking back on the experience, I remember how seriously
everyone took me and the awful clay mounds that I created.
Still, my effort did make me realize that confidence was everything.
If people believed in you, you believed in yourself.
Source: Printed with permission from John A. Hays.
I went to Phillips Exeter Academy and made the varsity
wrestling team in the 10th grade. The coach, Ted Seabrooke,
was a former “Big Ten” wrestling champ from Oklahoma
A&M. He had a gift for making skinny 130 pound kids feel like
they could beat anybody in this sport—and we did. He used
to say “If you KNOW you can get out from the bottom—you
won’t be afraid to try your moves on the top.” And so we
worked hard at that strategy and ended up winning matches
against kids far stronger than we were but who didn’t have
the confidence we had! I remember being in the finals of a
tournament where I was behind 10 to 1. The other guy got a
little careless and I got free and pinned him with only a few
seconds left. Never give up!
I went to Kenyon College (a bit “outside the box” since
my family traditionally went to Harvard University). I fell in
love with the Art Department and one thing led to another. I
actually got a job in the art world when I graduated. Today, at
Christie’s, I am a principal auctioneer for the firm, but I think
of those days wrestling at Exeter whenever I step into the
podium to take a sale: confident that I can run a sale no matter
who I’m in front of, believing that you can do anything if
you set your mind to it.