Guy Hain, son of a fruit and vegetable merchant, was born in 1942, in the middle of the Second world war, in Gravelines, in the North of France. He started his career as a banker and then, after his military service, turned to the trade of veterinary products. It is in this environment that he meets many amateurs of animal sculptures in bronze. At the age of 20, he becomes a collector and buys, among other maserworks, Auguste Rodin's Kiss for the modest sum of 550,000 francs. The world of antique dealers being much more exciting than that of flea markets, Guy Hain opens a gallery in Paris in May of 1979, which he names "Aux Ducs de Bourgogne".