Las Pozas

text by JAMES MOORE photography by RACHEL CHANDLER   Shortly after the Second World War, Edward James, the rich, eccentric bohemian Englishman, found himself in the small town of Xilitla, situated in the upper reaches of Mexico’s Sierra Madre Occidental rainforest. Here, in the midst of mountain springs, pools, and waterfalls, James decided to create his dream enclave, Las Pozas, (The Pools). To achieve this goal he sold off his impressive collection of surrealist art, and until his death in 1984 concentrated on the construction of his extravagant house and sculpture garden. We visited Las Pozas with Rachel Chandler, to see James’s fantastical creation, before time and humidity repossess it. EDWARD JAMES (1907-84) WAS A POET, eccentric bohemian, and patron of surrealist art. The only son of a railroad tycoon, James inherited a vast fortune, which allowed him to live lavishly, to offer support to Salvador Dali and René Magritte in…