diff --git a/flutter_client/lib/cache/adapters.dart b/flutter_client/lib/cache/adapters.dart
index 0785284f..11899469 100644
--- a/flutter_client/lib/cache/adapters.dart
+++ b/flutter_client/lib/cache/adapters.dart
@@ -17,10 +17,21 @@ import '../models/track.dart';
 import 'db.dart';
 
 extension CachedArtistAdapter on CachedArtist {
-  ArtistRef toRef() => ArtistRef(
+  /// `coverAlbumId` lets the caller pass a representative album id so
+  /// the ArtistRef carries a reconstructed `/api/albums/<id>/cover`
+  /// URL. cached_artists doesn't store this directly — the server
+  /// derives it from the most-recent album at query time — so drift
+  /// readers that want the cover URL join cached_albums and pass the
+  /// first album's id through. Empty string yields empty coverUrl,
+  /// matching the server's behavior for endpoints that don't carry
+  /// the lookup (artist detail, search, raw cached_artists row reads).
+  ArtistRef toRef({String coverAlbumId = ''}) => ArtistRef(
         id: id,
         name: name,
         sortName: sortName,
+        coverUrl: coverAlbumId.isNotEmpty
+            ? '/api/albums/$coverAlbumId/cover'
+            : '',
       );
 }
 
diff --git a/flutter_client/lib/cache/tile_providers.dart b/flutter_client/lib/cache/tile_providers.dart
index 8d9be83f..6fb8e1fa 100644
--- a/flutter_client/lib/cache/tile_providers.dart
+++ b/flutter_client/lib/cache/tile_providers.dart
@@ -18,6 +18,7 @@
 // subscriptions; drift handles this fine in practice but worth
 // measuring if a future surface scales to hundreds.
 
+import 'package:drift/drift.dart' as drift show OrderingTerm;
 import 'package:drift/drift.dart' show leftOuterJoin;
 import 'package:flutter_riverpod/flutter_riverpod.dart';
 
@@ -63,6 +64,12 @@ final albumTileProvider =
 
 /// Watches the cached_artists row for [id]. Triggers background
 /// hydration on miss; yields the row once it lands.
+///
+/// LEFT JOIN cached_albums ordered by sort_title so the first row per
+/// artist carries a representative album id; toRef() reconstructs
+/// `/api/albums/<id>/cover` from it. Without this join the ArtistRef
+/// has an empty coverUrl and tiles fall back to the music-notes
+/// placeholder even though the server has the cover available.
 final artistTileProvider =
     StreamProvider.family<ArtistRef?, String>((ref, id) async* {
   if (id.isEmpty) {
@@ -70,7 +77,12 @@ final artistTileProvider =
     return;
   }
   final db = ref.watch(appDbProvider);
-  final query = db.select(db.cachedArtists)..where((t) => t.id.equals(id));
+  final query = (db.select(db.cachedArtists)..where((t) => t.id.equals(id)))
+      .join([
+    leftOuterJoin(db.cachedAlbums,
+        db.cachedAlbums.artistId.equalsExp(db.cachedArtists.id)),
+  ])
+    ..orderBy([drift.OrderingTerm.asc(db.cachedAlbums.sortTitle)]);
   var enqueued = false;
   await for (final rows in query.watch()) {
     if (rows.isEmpty) {
@@ -83,7 +95,12 @@ final artistTileProvider =
       yield null;
       continue;
     }
-    yield rows.first.toRef();
+    // First row has the alphabetically-first album (or null if artist
+    // has no albums in drift yet — yields a coverless ArtistRef which
+    // the UI falls back to the placeholder icon for).
+    final artist = rows.first.readTable(db.cachedArtists);
+    final firstAlbum = rows.first.readTableOrNull(db.cachedAlbums);
+    yield artist.toRef(coverAlbumId: firstAlbum?.id ?? '');
   }
 });
 
diff --git a/flutter_client/lib/library/library_providers.dart b/flutter_client/lib/library/library_providers.dart
index f7065224..a5d064a0 100644
--- a/flutter_client/lib/library/library_providers.dart
+++ b/flutter_client/lib/library/library_providers.dart
@@ -233,17 +233,28 @@ Map<String, dynamic> _trackToJson(TrackRef t) => {
 final artistProvider =
     StreamProvider.family<ArtistRef, String>((ref, id) {
   final db = ref.watch(appDbProvider);
-  return cacheFirst<CachedArtist, ArtistRef>(
-    driftStream: (db.select(db.cachedArtists)..where((t) => t.id.equals(id)))
-        .watch(),
+  // LEFT JOIN cached_albums for cover-URL reconstruction (see
+  // CachedArtistAdapter.toRef). First row carries the alphabetically-
+  // first album.
+  final query = (db.select(db.cachedArtists)..where((t) => t.id.equals(id)))
+      .join([
+    drift.leftOuterJoin(db.cachedAlbums,
+        db.cachedAlbums.artistId.equalsExp(db.cachedArtists.id)),
+  ])
+    ..orderBy([drift.OrderingTerm.asc(db.cachedAlbums.sortTitle)]);
+  return cacheFirst<drift.TypedResult, ArtistRef>(
+    driftStream: query.watch(),
     fetchAndPopulate: () async {
       final api = await ref.read(libraryApiProvider.future);
       final fresh = await api.getArtist(id);
       await db.into(db.cachedArtists).insertOnConflictUpdate(fresh.toDrift());
     },
-    toResult: (rows) => rows.isEmpty
-        ? const ArtistRef(id: '', name: '')
-        : rows.first.toRef(),
+    toResult: (rows) {
+      if (rows.isEmpty) return const ArtistRef(id: '', name: '');
+      final artist = rows.first.readTable(db.cachedArtists);
+      final firstAlbum = rows.first.readTableOrNull(db.cachedAlbums);
+      return artist.toRef(coverAlbumId: firstAlbum?.id ?? '');
+    },
     isOnline: () async => (await ref
         .read(connectivityProvider.future)
         .timeout(const Duration(seconds: 3), onTimeout: () => true)),
diff --git a/flutter_client/lib/library/library_screen.dart b/flutter_client/lib/library/library_screen.dart
index 8392c728..6b2c7693 100644
--- a/flutter_client/lib/library/library_screen.dart
+++ b/flutter_client/lib/library/library_screen.dart
@@ -62,9 +62,19 @@ final _meApiProvider = FutureProvider<MeApi>((ref) async {
 /// via /api/library/sync.
 final _libraryArtistsProvider = StreamProvider<List<ArtistRef>>((ref) {
   final db = ref.watch(appDbProvider);
-  final query = db.select(db.cachedArtists)
-    ..orderBy([(t) => drift.OrderingTerm.asc(t.sortName)]);
-  return cacheFirst<CachedArtist, List<ArtistRef>>(
+  // LEFT JOIN cached_albums so each artist row carries a representative
+  // album id for cover-URL reconstruction. Sorted by artist sortName
+  // then album sortTitle: the first row per artist gets the
+  // alphabetically-first album. Dedup happens in toResult.
+  final query = db.select(db.cachedArtists).join([
+    drift.leftOuterJoin(db.cachedAlbums,
+        db.cachedAlbums.artistId.equalsExp(db.cachedArtists.id)),
+  ])
+    ..orderBy([
+      drift.OrderingTerm.asc(db.cachedArtists.sortName),
+      drift.OrderingTerm.asc(db.cachedAlbums.sortTitle),
+    ]);
+  return cacheFirst<drift.TypedResult, List<ArtistRef>>(
     driftStream: query.watch(),
     fetchAndPopulate: () async {
       // Cold-cache fallback: sync should have populated drift already,
@@ -80,7 +90,23 @@ final _libraryArtistsProvider = StreamProvider<List<ArtistRef>>((ref) {
         );
       });
     },
-    toResult: (rows) => rows.map((r) => r.toRef()).toList(),
+    toResult: (rows) {
+      // The join multiplies rows by album count; dedup by artist id
+      // keeping the first occurrence so we get one ArtistRef per
+      // artist with the alphabetically-first album's id for the
+      // cover-URL projection. Artists with no albums in drift yet
+      // come through as a single row with null cachedAlbums and an
+      // empty coverUrl — UI falls back to the placeholder icon.
+      final seen = <String>{};
+      final out = <ArtistRef>[];
+      for (final r in rows) {
+        final a = r.readTable(db.cachedArtists);
+        if (!seen.add(a.id)) continue;
+        final album = r.readTableOrNull(db.cachedAlbums);
+        out.add(a.toRef(coverAlbumId: album?.id ?? ''));
+      }
+      return out;
+    },
     isOnline: () async => (await ref
         .read(connectivityProvider.future)
         .timeout(const Duration(seconds: 3), onTimeout: () => true)),