She was awarded a knighthood with the Lazo de Dama in the Order of Isabella the Catholic by Spain in 1975 and the Gold Medal of Merit in the Fine Arts in 1991.

[7][8] While looking for a summer job, after graduation, Sayre interviewed with Paul J. Sachs at Harvard University's Fogg Art Museum and was hired to work in the print department.

In 1951 when Rossiter bought the proofs of Goya's series The Disasters of War, which had at one time been owned by Sir William Stirling-Maxwell, 9th Baronet, Sayre began studying the prints.

[7] In 1960, Sayre was promoted to assistant curator of prints and drawings[9] and in 1963, she was awarded a Ford Foundation grant to return to Spain to make further study of Goya's works.

To create the exhibit, she joined holdings from the Boston MFA with drawings from Madrid's Museo del Prado and proofs borrowed from the Art Institute of Chicago, the Biblioteca Nacional de España, and the British Museum.

[15] In appreciation of her scholarship on Goya, Sayre was awarded the Lazo de Dama of the Order of Isabella the Catholic from the Spanish crown in 1975.

[16][17] In 1977, Sayre curated an exhibit on Beatrix Potter, combining drawings and book illustrations with a mini-zoo, provided by the Boston park system.