SCOTLAND'S national galleries have expressed their dismay that a landmark mosaic by pop art pioneer Eduardo Paolozzi has been dismantled in London.

Transport for London (TfL) removed three "highly important" mosaics that the Leith-born artist created at Tottenham Court Road Station.

The artworks, taken from above escalators at the station, have been removed and put in storage, with no plans for a rehang yet in place.

A spokeswoman for the National Galleries of Scotland, which hold significant archives of the works of Paolozzi, who died in 2005, said the institution was "sad" to see the mosaics go as part of the Crossrail refurbishments.

In a statement, the galleries urged TfL to find a new place to display the works, which were completed in 1984.

It said: "We are obviously sad to see that significant parts of Paolozzi's much-loved mosaics at Tottenham Court Road Station have been removed during the remodelling of the station.

"This is a highly important piece of 20th century public art by one of this country's greatest artists.

"We would hope that TFL will take steps not just to conserve the parts that have been removed but to find an appropriate way to relocate them."

Gareth Powell, London Underground's director of strategy and service development, said: "We consider the Paolozzi mosaics to be an important artwork and 95 per cent of the mosaics will be retained in their current place or with a mixture of new and original tiles.

"Throughout the vital upgrade of Tottenham Court Road station we explored all the options possible to preserve the mosaics attached to the arches at the top of the main escalator.

"Unfortunately they could not be retained as the structure that they sat on was supported by the roof, which has now been removed to enable the station to be expanded to meet increasing demand as London's population grows.

"The decision to remove the arches was agreed with the Paolozzi Foundation in 2012 and we have worked closely with them, and other interested parties, throughout."

TfL said it had "extensively explored" the possibility of removing the arch tiles individually, "but less than five per cent could be removed undamaged because of the particularly rich mortar in which they are set".

It added that it had already worked to successfully restore and replace the Paolozzi mosaics on the Northern line, which will shortly be followed by the Central line tiles.

The mosaics at the former Oxford Street entrance will also be removed.

Catherine Croft, director of the Twentieth Century Society, told the Architects' Journal the organisation was saddened that the arches - described by the society as a 'key' part of Paolozzi's ensemble at the station - had already gone.

She said: "We were given assurances when the station upgrade plans were first mooted that the mosaics would be safe, and because of this we held off putting them in for listing.

"With hindsight we feel these mosaics would have been better protected through the listing process. We would have then been more involved in the decision-making process from the beginning, and the outcome may have different."

The National Galleries of Scotland holds over 3,000 works by the Scottish sculptor and artist. These include numerous sculptures, paintings, drawings, prints, lithographs and collages.

The Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art's Modern Two is home to an amalgamated recreation of the artist's London and Munich studios.

Gifted by Paolozzi in 1994 along with many of his works, it contains sculptures, plaster casts, reference books, ornaments, artefacts and other miscellanea amassed during his lifetime.

The largest work in the collection is Eduardo Paolozzi's Vulcan.

Made of welded steel, and measuring more than 23ft in height, it was commissioned for the entrance hall of the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art Two in 1999.