IT has been steam-cleaned and had its peeling paint removed.

And now Glasgow's Gallery of Modern Art (GoMA) is ready to celebrate its 200th anniversary.

Previously coated in stained cream masonry paint and cement repairs, the clock tower has undergone an extensive series of conservation repairs.

Chairman of Glasgow Life, Councillor Archie Graham, said: “The Gallery of Modern Art is a building firmly tied to the history of Glasgow itself.

"We are delighted to reveal the restored clock tower and weather vane, in complete working order just in time for its 200th anniversary.

“I’m very pleased with the delicate restoration work undertaken by Austin-Smith:Lord, who were careful to ensure the results were sympathetic to the historic keeping of the building and the wider environment.

"This refurbishment ensures generations to come have the opportunity to enjoy this beautiful building in full as it was originally intended."

Glasgow Life, which manages GoMA, instructed conservation accredited architects at the Glasgow studio of Austin-Smith:Lord to assess the true condition of the tower and advise on a suitable repair strategy.

Initially the team began repairing the tower by cleaning off old paint, which was causing damage to the stonework, redecorating the clock face and removing vegetation from the building.

However, during the examination of the sandstone masonry, the restorers discovered serious errors in the way the original tower had been constructed from 1827 to 1829.

This meant more extensive conservation repairs were needed, including replacing stones that were incorrectly bedded in the past.

David Millar, Director and Head of Conservation at Austin-Smith:Lord, added: “This has been a very interesting and challenging project, assessing solutions and actions that would both enhance the visual aesthetic of this landmark but also ensure an improved lifespan of the masonry structure into the future.

“There is always a level of risk associated with removing paint from sandstone but it’s an exciting activity as you don’t know what you might find.

"We discovered masonry wrongly bedded and sandstone heavily carbonated and although some individuals might like to see these dark deposits removed it’s not good practice as you are potentially removing too much original historic and listed fabric.

“We have steam cleaned and removed loose material and carried out indent repairs and what we have represented follows good conservation practice.

"We think the final result is both beautiful and able to stand the test of time.”

Some 600,000 people have been to GoMA in the last year, making it Scotland’s most visited modern art gallery.

It also guaranteed the popular museum a place in the coveted Top Ten most visited attractions in Scotland during 2015.

The work was undertaken by City Building and CBC Stone with financial grant support from Historic Environment Scotland.

Frazer Gibson, Project Manager from Historic Environment Scotland, added: “We were pleased to award funding to the Gallery of Modern Art in March 2015 to help them restore the existing masonry of the tower and enhance the heritage merit of the museum, one of Glasgow’s most iconic public buildings.

"It’s great to see the work now complete and we hope this encourages even more people to go along and see what this beautiful historic building has to offer.”

The Royal Exchange Square building was originally constructed in 1778 as the townhouse of William Cunninghame of Lainshaw, one of Glasgow's wealthy tobacco lords.

It later became a bank between 1816 and 17 when it was enlarged to create the Royal Exchange.

It was this work which added the Corinthian pillars of the temple frontage to Queen Street and the Cupola and clock tower design.

The Royal Exchange was later purchased by Glasgow Corporation in November 1949 for £105,000.