Lydia T. Black (1925–2007) was professor emerita at the University of Alaska Fairbanks. She contributed nearly seventy books and articles to the study of Russian America and Native Alaska culture. In 2000, she was awarded The Order of Friendship by the Russian Federation for fostering cooperation between the Russian and American scholarly communities.

Now in a second edition, Aleut Art is a landmark work that provides a comprehensive picture of the Unangas, or Aleut people, and the place of art in their lives, both past and present.

Full of extraordinary color plates representing collections from museums throughout Europe and the United States, Aleut Art showcases wood, bone, and ivory work, as well as the famous kamleikas (waterproof parkas made of gut) for which the Aleut are known. A chapter on masks reproduces extraordinary wooden examples from the 19th century and situates them in their cultural context. Other topics include Aleut hunting visors, weaving, embroidery, and tattoo. Black covers both works recovered from archaeological sites and modern Aleut artists whose work now resides in museums worldwide.