# Exterior view [View the canonical artwork record]() ## Artwork - Artist: [LATROBE, Benjamin Henry]() - Date: 1801-1850 - Technique: Photo ## Commentary The commission to build the White House was awarded to the Irishman James Hoban. His project borrowed heavily from a design for a country house by the English architect James Gibbs. The office of the president of the United States was therefore built in a very traditional, even old-fashioned manner - and, of course, in the style of the country's former colonial masters. The White House owes its characteristic portico to Benjamin Latrobe. The photo shows the south side of the building. ## Related artworks - [Baltimore Basilica]() - [Exterior view \(east front\)]() - [Exterior view]() - [Exterior view \(west front\)]() - [Exterior view \(west front\)]() - [General view]() - [Interior view]() - [Interior view]() - [Interior view]() - [The Bank of Pennsylvania at Philadelphia]() ## Attribution [Web Gallery of Art]()