Pseudonym of Willard Huntington Wright. He was born in Charlotsville, Virginia. He attended college in California and later studied art in Paris and Munich. Wright was literary critic for the Los Angeles Times and several periodicals and was editor of the Smart Set from 1912 to 1914. The first books he wrote were chiefly art criticism. In 1926, he created 'Philo Vance', a wealthy connoisseur of the arts and amateur detective who assists the district attorney with his investigations.