Charles Parks is one of America's fore most classical sculptors and is widely re garded as our nation's finest sculptor of children. Working in the mainstream of American realism, Charles Parks contin ues the great classical sculpture tradition that traces back through the work of Augustus St. Gaudens to Michelangelo, Donatello and the art of ancient Greece. A sculptor's sculptor, Mr. Parks has earned a major reputation in the world of art. He was elected to membership in the National Sculpture Society in 1960 and named a Fellow of the Society in 1966. He is an adviser on the arts to the Governor of Delaware, and is a member of The President's Advisory Com mittee on the Fine Arts for the John F. Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. For thirty years, children have been the primary subjects of his work, and his bronze sculptures of children à occupy places of honor in many of America's great homes and private collections. In his sculptures of children, there is an awareness of the marvelous potential of every child-a sense of the significance and the joy of childhood itself. Now, The Franklin Mint is proud to announce that Charles Parks has created two new and original bronze sculptures of children - Two Studies of Child hood-to be issued in limited edition to established Franklin Mint collectors. These will be the first bronze sculptures ever offered by The Franklin Mint. Individually titled Boy with Dog and Girl with Cat, these are remarkable works. Their mood is quiet and serene, serious and profound, with a beauty that speaks of all children. Charles Parks himself con siders them the culmination of three decades devoted to the loving sculpture of children and calls them "the children of my mind." Each of these authentic bronze sculptures will be individually hand-cast and hand-finished in the same way used by the sculptors of ancient Greece for their works in bronze. By Cellini for his "Perseus." By Rodin for "The Thinker." And by Frederic Reming ton for his Western bronzes. This hand-casting and hand-finishing of bronze sculptures is an ancient art, passed on from father to son through the generations, and calls for meticulous craftsmanship. Each bronze will be produced to order and de livery will be necessarily slow. It may take several months to complete the work. However, orders will be filled in sequence of receipt, and the earliest orders received will be filled within four to six weeks. The price of each sculpture is $300. No advance payment is necessary, and billing will be on a monthly basis, at the rate of $50 per month, beginning with shipment. Two Studies of Childhood will be produced in a single limited edition, which is reserved exclusively for established Franklin Mint collectors. One or both of the sculptures may be ordered. It should be noted that the closing date for all orders is May 20, 1974.