Artist Forgoes Splurging on Rolex Watch to Help Struggling Artists

• NYC artist Guy Stanley Philoche initially wanted to buy an expensive watch after a sold-out show. 
• But when the pandemic started, he decided to use his money to help smaller artists. 
• He ended up spending $60,000 buying artworks from various local artists!

The New York City apartment of artist Guy Stanley Philoche is filled with various works of art from all over the world — amounting to around $20,000 worth of local masterpieces. One could easily mistake his home for a museum.

That’s because Guy decided to give back during this difficult time of COVID-19 by helping people who supported him until now — the smaller artists who struggle during this global pandemic. 

“I just wanted to do my part. I really, really just wanted to do my part,” he said.

Before the pandemic, Guy had a sold-out show. It was so successful that he considered buying himself a status-symbol watch. 

“I’ve always wanted this really beautiful Rolex watch. It’s a $15-$20,000 watch, so I was like, ‘I’m gonna splurge,’” he said. 

However, the novel coronavirus hit New York City even before he could indulge in his little splurge. He soon realized that his money is meant for something else — to help struggling artists like his friend, who just became a father and lost a job. 

“I ended up buying two of his pieces,” Guy says. “So I go home, hang his two pieces, and I realize that now’s not really the time to splurge on a watch. Let me do my part and help out.”

That’s what started his idea to buy art pieces with the $20,000 he could spare. He posted the announcement on Instagram to inform his followers that he was willing to buy pieces for $300 – $500 budget each.

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A post shared by Guy Stanley Philoche (@guystanleyphiloche) on Mar 20, 2020 at 3:22pm PDT

Soon enough, his inbox was filled with DMs of artworks from various local artists pleading him to take a look at their pieces. And Guy was not buying just for the sake of it, he was choosing works that he loved and were worth the money. 

“There was this one artist who had never sold anything in his whole life. I was like, ‘Hey man, I love your work. And you know what, I’m buying two pieces,’” he says. “And he was just like, ‘I’ve never sold anything before. Oh my god.’”

This inspired other collectors to have him buy pieces of art for them as well. He ended up spending $60,000 for the project.

Guy was born of Haitian descent, and his family moved to Connecticut when he was young. After high school, he left to pursue his aspirations to become an artist. 

He worked hard to help himself get to college at Paier College of Arts. He has been through a lot to get to where he is now. So for him, it’s his “responsibility to open the door for other people” who are now struggling — just like he had been.

Source: People