'Andean Potato Pickers, Amaru, Peru'. 24x24 inches acrylic on canvas. Paintings of Peru by John Dyer from our Online Art Gallery

NB: This painting can be secured now. It is on show in John Dyer’s ‘Spirit of the Harvest’ Exhibition at the Eden Project and will be shipped after 9 February 2026, or sooner on request.

In ‘Andean Potato Pickers, Amaru, Peru’ John Dyer, Eden Project’s Artist in Residence and an official Artist for the Earth with Earth Day, celebrates the culture, colour and biodiversity of the Peruvian Andes. Painted en plein air at high altitude during the United Nations’ International Year of the Potato, this vibrant work was created in collaboration with CIP (the International Potato Centre), placing the artist at the very heart of Peru’s most important harvest.

The scene is alive with activity: farmers in traditional dress bend to gather potatoes, their bright woven fabrics echoing the vivid colours of the tubers themselves. In the foreground, an astonishing range of potato varieties — purple, red, yellow, brown — are collected together in mounded heaps, a dazzling record of one of the world’s most diverse and vital crops. Pigs roam between the figures, while great Andean condors soar above the fields and snow-capped mountains form a majestic backdrop.

Potatoes originated in Peru and remain a cornerstone of Andean life. The biodiversity of the crop is essential for survival: farmers plant many varieties to withstand the extremes of drought, frost, or heat, ensuring that at least part of the harvest endures each season. This agricultural knowledge, passed down for generations, safeguards food security for millions and has given the world a staple food now eaten on every continent.

Painted in the crisp mountain light with acrylic drying rapidly on the canvas, the work conveys the immediacy of place — each brushstroke shaped by altitude, colour and atmosphere. Dyer’s expressive style transforms both the hard work of the harvest and the beauty of the landscape into a radiant, joyful composition.

This original painting is a cultural record of Peru’s potato harvest and a celebration of the resilience and ingenuity of the Andean people. Collecting a John Dyer painting is to invest in the vision one of the World's best known environmental painters and to bring the warmth, colour and spirit of the Andes into your home.

"The biodiversity of the harvest in Peru is not only visually stunning, but essential to life. The farmers plant a wide variety of each crop to ensure that unexpected rain/drought/cold or heat will not wipe out an entire year’s harvest. A harvest may be reduced by unfavourable conditions but by preserving the biodiversity of the crop they ensure a bountiful harvest each season. The potato tubers come in many shapes, sizes and colours and are collected together on colourful fabrics in the fields for sorting. This painting celebrates the diversity of the harvest and the colourful friendly people of Peru."

John Dyer

 

Item Information

Description	Framed Original Painting
Artist	Cornish Artist John Dyer (born 1968)
Signed by the Artist	Signed by John Dyer
Painting size	24 x 24 inches
Medium	Acrylic on canvas
Framed size	29.5 x 29.5 inches
Frame type	The St Ives style picture frame is a Renaissance-inspired cassetta frame, Italian for 'little box', featuring a white stain finish that highlights the wood grain. With a 73mm wide profile and 39mm depth, it creates a recessed central panel, perfect for a timeless, contemporary and elegant display of the painting.
Ready to hang	Strung with picture cord and ready to hang

 

This painting is featured in the book 'Painting the Colours of the World' by Kate Dinn.

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