The portico represents not only another entrance to the Palace but also an entrance to an art gallery and as such, makes references to the origins of western art.  For its design, Simpson, returns to the very roots of architecture, the early Greek Doric of the sixth century B.C. of the Temples at Paestum near Naples.  The open roof with its solid oak beams recalls the traditional origin of the Greek Doric order, as recorded by Vitruvius, and the ceiling is ornamented with painted decoration of the kind originally applied to Greek Temples.