The chairman of the Department of Paintings Conservation at the Metropolitan Museum is interviewed at length about his opinions. Philosophy of approach, changes over the ten years he has been in the United States, the treatment of <i>Las Meninas</i> by Velázquez, <i>The Noble Slav</i> by Rembrandt, and nine paintings by Mantegna at Hampton Court are among topics discussed. The problems resulting from the painting techniques of Reynolds, Turner, de Kooning, and Frank Stella are considered. Changes which may happen to artists' materials are explained. -- AATA