John Singer Sargent Portrait of John Hay.  Oil on canvas.  Washington, 1903. During the month of February, 1903, John Singer Sargent painted John Hay's portrait.  In a letter written to his daughter, Helen Hay Whitney, Hay wrote facetiously: "It is an odd thought that most of my reputation will depend on this picture." The following year, Augustus Saint-Gaudens began his bust of Hay and completed it just before Hay's death on 1 July 1905. John Hay Collection. Gift of Hay's grandson, John Hay.