As with any major project, various artwork is considered and reworked, during the development of the complete visual package.

This rare picture, a sketch by Storm Thorgerson, shows the genesis of the eventual cover art. It was first seen to accompany the excellent book, "Mind Over Matter: The Art Of Pink Floyd", which showcases the various Floyd projects that Storm and the gang has worked on, and is a fine read - an essential for everyone's bookshelves!

It was this image, presented with a clutch of other ideas and images, that the band decided to go for.

Presented below are some of the various covers that were considered and/or finally used, once the "window" concept had been decided on. Simply click on the image(s) of interest to launch a larger size, higher quality version.

"The Farm" cover image: 

"The River" cover image: 

Alternate cover images: 

Almost the final cover image!:    Press ad: 

Storm Thorgerson's rationale behind the cover...

The full text is available at the official Pink Floyd site but here is a taster of why Echoes has the cover it has...

"The band...chose...the receding windows, one within another, like an infinite regression, layer within layer, shape within shape, repeat after repeat. Like an echo, but built as a real physical place made of bricks and mortar, not a metaphorical place, or a set of opposing mirrors like in an elevator. Neither dream nor fantasy, but a building with countryside beyond, full of real people not ghosts, dotted with hard objects not half seen memories, but still dreamlike, a coincidental repetition echoing into the distance.
 
"And many of these objects would be of course from previous album covers representing in effect the selected tracks for this album; they would make the space real whilst providing resonance with the past, arranged in a manner reminiscent of Ummagumma, an early album. More echoes. The bits would also be clues or parts of a puzzle, quietly challenging the viewer to find and name them all properly, and hence discover the key... not the glass key nor the Florida key nor in fact the key to the potting shed... but the mystic key of Aggamoto.
 
"I think the band felt it more appropriate than some completely new design which could be considered misleading since this album was basically old stuff... even if newly arranged. So the cover for Echoes is old stuff, also newly arranged."