Paintings from the Versace collection

An impressive collection of paintings that once adorned the late designer Gianni Versace’s six-story town house near New York’s Central Park is scheduled to be auctioned later this year.

The collection of contemporary, Impressionist, modern and 19th century works will be offered by Sotheby’s in three sales in New York and one in London, the auction house said. It includes important works by Roy Lichtenstein, Andy Warhol, Henri Matisse and Edgar Degas.

The Italian designer’s fine-art collection that is being sold at Sotheby’s is valued at $12.3 million to $17.4 million, representing about 45 paintings, said Patricia Madara, a spokeswoman for the auction house. It is being offered for sale by the holding company for the Versace family. Versace was killed by a gunman in 1997.

In 2001, Sotheby’s sold other art and furnishings from his Florida mansion, bringing in a total of $10.2 million.