The Billy Joel Steinway Hall Portrait was unveiled December 12, 2011.

Steinway Artist Billy Joel has found his place among the greatest pianists of all time – gracing the walls of legendary Steinway Hall in New York.

A Paul Wyse portrait of the world’s most famous Piano Man was unveiled at the iconic showroom on December 12, 2011, placing his image among those of Franz Liszt, Anton Rubinstein and Vladimir Horowitz. This makes Joel the first pop artist and one of only two living artists to receive the honor.

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 one ran into Horowitz on the street in Manhattan in the 1970’s. “I had long hair and a black leather jacket and I said, ‘Maestro!’ and he thought I was gonna mug him. He kind of ran away.”

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.

Billy Joel interviewed on the New York Fox station discusses his favorite songs and plays some Christmas music to get everybody in the spirit of the season.