The definitive cover art for this definitive work by one of the greatest minds in science fiction literature, Isaac Asimov. Hari Seldon and the city/planet Trantor inspire and permeate the whole Foundation series; they are the books' ultimate symbols and so the only choice for the first cover.

In the composition, Michael suggested the stately grandeur of the monumental civilization at the height of its power. As in the Greek and Roman columns of antiquity, the towers represent the tradition, law, and bureaucracy of the book's thousand year empire and in front is the benevolent grand architect of the next millennium. The light is low on the horizon-it could be dawn or dusk, or both-signifying the impending doom of Trantor and the rise of the Foundation.

On Seldon's lapel is a raven, the nickname given him by the citizens of Trantor. He is bound to confinement in the wheelchair, but he has the stars and planets in his lap as he looks with confidence to the future he so clearly sees.