The Face of John Jay

The John Frazee Bust

John Jay was an American statesman, diplomat, and Founding Father of the United States. He signed the Treaty of Paris, served as the first Chief Justice of the United States from 1789 to 1795, and later as the second Governor of New York from 1795 to 1801.

The most accurate likenesses of Jay are generally considered to be Gilbert Stuart’s 1794 portrait and Giuseppe Ceracchi’s 1792 bust. The bust I used for this reconstruction, however, was sculpted by John Frazee. In 1831, Congress appropriated $400 “for employing John Frazee to execute a bust of John Jay for the Supreme Court room.” According to Senate.gov, Frazee likely borrowed a version of Ceracchi’s bust owned by the Jay family—believed to be the terracotta model now held by the Supreme Court of the United States.

Portrait of John Jay by Gilbert Stuart, 1794 and bust of John Jay by John Frazee, U.S. Senate Collection.

While Frazee drew upon Ceracchi’s work for the accuracy of Jay’s facial features, he moved away from Ceracchi’s naturalism toward a distinctive neoclassical style. Two plaster heads of Jay at the New-York Historical Society, once attributed to Ceracchi, are now thought to be by Frazee. His neoclassical influence is most apparent in the treatment of the hair, eyes, and clothing. Although Jay’s son Peter Augustus praised Frazee’s bust as “an excellent likeness,” notable differences existed—particularly Jay’s hairline, which had receded considerably by 1794, nearly to the crown of his head.

Because Frazee’s bust does not accurately reflect Jay’s hair loss, I adjusted my reconstruction to match Stuart’s portrait, showing a more receded hairline. I also replaced Frazee’s idealized neoclassical eyes with more realistic ones. Overall, the bust aligns closely with Jay’s facial structure as seen in Stuart’s painting, and I aimed to merge the strengths of both sources.

This image was created using AI and Photoshop, in an effort to capture what may be the closest possible likeness of John Jay.

Photoshop and AI facial reconstruction of Frazee's bust of John Jay

Various views of John Jay