 However, the building, faced in Portland stone, is not typical of his work and was built towards the end of his life, being completed shortly after his death.Christian was an unexpected and controversial choice for such a commission and was appointed by the donor for the new building W. H. Alexander (1832–1905).In the autumn of 1889 the architect embarked on a study tour of continental museums and art galleries in order to prepare himself for the task, an exhausting project which included visits to Bruges, Ghent, Antwerp, Amsterdam, Berlin, Frankfurt, Kassel and Dresden.