Published : Dec. 13, 2011 - 19:32
Billy Joel is photographed at the unveiling of his Steinway Hall portrait at the flagship store of Steinway & Sons in New York, Monday. (AP-Yonhap News)
NEW YORK (AP) ― The Piano Man is now officially a Steinway man.
A Billy Joel portrait has been unveiled in New York City at Steinway Hall, home to the famed piano maker Steinway & Sons.
Joel is one of only two living artists included in a collection featuring greats such as Hungarian composer Franz Liszt. He’s the only non-classical performer.
The 62-year-old pop legend joked Monday about his painting’s proximity to Vladimir Horowitz’s, saying he doesn’t know “how crazy’’ Horowitz is about having him that close.
Joel’s painting features him standing upright in a leather jacket, with a Steinway in the foreground.
Joel says the jacket was one of the few items of clothing bought without a female companion. He says he wore it for years but his girlfriend recently dismissed it as a 1980s relic.