NEW YORK (AP) – An impressive collection of paintings that once adorned the late designer Gianni Versace’s six-story townhouse near 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 announced Thursday. It includes important works by Roy Lichtenstein, Andy Warhol, Henri Matisse and Edgar Degas.

“This collection reflects Mr. Versace’s wide-ranging taste and impeccable eye, and many of the works were commissioned directly from the artists,” Tobias Meyer, worldwide head of Sotheby’s contemporary art, said in a statement. “Outstanding later examples from champions of the Pop movement, such as Roy Lichtenstein, are juxtaposed with masterpieces from the most visible artists of the 1980s, including Jean-Michel Basquiat and the collaborative genius of Basquiat and Warhol, as well as Francesco Clemente.”

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, she said.

The upcoming auctions mark the second time that Sotheby’s has offered works of arts and other belongings from the designer, who was gunned down at his Miami Beach mansion in 1997.

In 2001, the auction house sold art and furnishings from his Florida mansion, bringing in a total of $10.2 million.

“Gianni Versace’s home in New York is a sanctuary of sophistication,” Elaine Whitmire, senior vice president and specialist in charge of the sale, said in a statement. “Where the Miami house was filled with bold colors and patterns, New York is very architectural and appropriately reflective of the city.”

The bulk of Versace’s fine art collection from his 12,000-square-foot townhouse will be offered in three auctions in New York, and will be included in Sotheby’s sale on 19th century paintings on April 20; in its Impressionist and Modern paintings sale on May 3-4; and its contemporary paintings sale on May 10-11.

A smaller number of contemporary paintings from the designer’s collection will be offered in London on June 22-23.

Sotheby’s said a single-owner sale of Versace’s furniture and decorative works of art will be auctioned in New York in the fall. A date has not yet been set.

Highlights from the fine arts sales include several works by Lichtenstein, including “Blue Nude,” an oil on canvas from 1995, estimated at $2.5 million to $3.5 million, and “Still Life with Envelope” from 1982, estimated by $600,000 to $800,000.

Also being offered are two later works by Lichtenstein, which were commissioned by Versace: “Still Life with Diana” and “Still Life with Ajax,” which Sotheby’s described as including “elements recognizable in Mr. Versace’s own designs.” Each is estimated at $400,000 to $600,000.

Versace’s collection also includes several large-scale works by Basquiat, including “Untitled,” a work from 1982 estimated at $1.2 million to $1.8 million, and “Taxi” from 1986-86, estimated at $900,000 to $1.2 million.

Sotheby’s said Versace assembled perhaps the most significant collection of collaborative works between Warhol and Basquiat in private hands, and those include “Amoco,” a large scale canvas estimated to sell for $900,000 to $1.2 million and “GE,” estimated at $400,000 to $600,000.

The collection also includes drawings by Matisse, Amedeo Modigliani and Degas, and watercolors by Marc Chagall and Raoul Dufy, a sculpture by Giorgio de Chirico and paintings by Fernand LDeger.