An award-winning artist whose work was destroyed by water in Glasgow's Gallery of Modern Art has said the city needs to take responsibility for the loss.

Nathan Coley, a leading contemporary artist based in Glasgow, is to remake one of his signature works, The Lamp of Sacrifice, after it was damaged beyond repair while in the care of the gallery last month.

Glasgow Life, which runs the gallery, has revealed a humidification plant "contributed to the damage" to the art work, and issued a public apology.

The work, which consisted of 286 cardboard scale models of churches and other places of worship in Edinburgh, was inundated with water in the incident at the gallery (GoMA) in mid-January.

Coley is to now to start remaking the art work, which is owned by the National Galleries of Scotland (NGS).

The artist, short listed for the Turner Prize in 2007, is distraught and angered by the loss.

He said: "I feel massively disappointed that the work has been damaged beyond repair. Do Glasgow Life need to take responsibility? Absolutely.

"They borrowed an artwork from the National Collection and while in their care it was destroyed."

He added: "It was a huge sacrifice of time and energy when I first made it for the Fruitmarket Gallery 11 years ago.

"I've reluctantly said Yes, that I will fabricate the whole work again.

"Spending six months re-making something that you've already made, is a truly perverse way to spend your time."

The work, which was on display as part of the nationwide Generation show, was made by the graduate of the Glasgow School of Art in 2004 and commissioned by the Fruitmarket Gallery in Edinburgh.

More than 60 per cent of the work was damaged beyond repair by the water.

Duncan Dornan, the head of museums at Glasgow Life, formally apologised for the incident.

He said: "I am very sorry for the distress and upset this has caused for Nathan.

"We will continue to work with both Nathan and NGS as they determine the next steps to reinstate the work."

A spokesman for Glasgow Life, said: "On behalf of National Galleries Scotland, we have conducted a full and thorough investigation into the damage caused to Lamp of Sacrifice, while the work was on loan at GoMA.

"As well as our internal inquiry, we have been working with a specialist engineering and scientific consultants to determine the cause."

He added: "The investigations suggest that a failure with humidification plant, provided by an external supplier, contributed to the damage.

"It would be inappropriate at this stage to comment on any further action that we may take."

The work was purchased by the NGS in 2004 with funds from the Cecil and Mary Gibson Bequest for £20,000.

The original artwork was made by the artist and an assistant working every day to complete the task, with four models made a day, over several months.

Coley believes it will take around six months to remake the work.

He plans to remake it exactly as it was, with no alterations or updates from 2004.

The NGS said the incident will not damage the relationship between the galleries and Glasgow.

A statement from the National Galleries of Scotland, said: "We lend many hundreds of works to other museums and galleries every year including a large number of loans to venues across Scotland.

"Works of art are by their nature vulnerable to various kinds of damage but our staff work with borrowing institutions to ensure that these risks are minimised as much as possible.

"We accept that an active programme of loans cannot be without risk but we feel that it is important that the collection is shared widely and enjoyed as widely as possible in this country.

"We enjoy a strong partnership with colleagues in Glasgow and we will continue to lend and borrow from Glasgow museums as before."