This mansion at 972 Fifth Avenue was designed by Stanford White in 1902 and was completed in 1906 shortly after White's murder. The house was built for the Payne Whitney family as a wedding gift from Payne Whitney's uncle, Oliver H. Payne.

White drew inspiration from High Renaissance Italian palaces when designing the interior and exterior of this opulent home, which featured a Venetian themed reception, and a marble-clad rotunda with a Renaissance statue in the middle. In the 1990s, it was discovered that the statue was in fact a Michelangelo, unknowingly purchased by White in Italy.

In 1952, the building was acquired by the French Embassy to host their cultural services.