Few new Presidents have spent much time posing for the portrait-bearing gold medal they get as an Inaugural gift. But Ronald Reagan not only agreed to three sittings, he had a life mask made. Only Abe Lincoln, whose likeness was sculpted in 1860, had been so masochistic. For 20 minutes the President-elect sat motionless, slathered crown to collarbone with silicone goop, straws jutting from his ears and nostrils. After the 20-minute ordeal, Sculptor Edward Fraughton pronounced him a model model: "He's used to being made up." But not quite so heavily. "Boys," cracked...
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