Opened in 1996, the Gallery of Modern Art is situated in Royal Exchange Square at the heart of Glasgow City. The building was built in 1778 as the townhouse of William Cunninghame of Lainshaw but has since seen many uses including as a library. At the front of the gallery stands a statue of the Duke of Wellington astride his horse by the Italian artist Carlo Marochetti, erected in 1844, and is regularly adorned with a trafdic cone.