Twenty-two paintings and studies by Kensett at the Metropolitan Museum of Art were examined visually with the aid of a microscope in addition to cross sectional analysis and infrared reflectography to study the artist's materials and working method. All but three works date from the final months of his career. There are few pentimenti or traces of change. Drawings are usually in graphite pencil directly on chalk ground. Paint application and colored primings are discussed. Blue sky samples were invariably found to contain lead white and synthetic ultramarine. For painting out-of-doors, artists frequently brought along unstretched canvases which were pinned to a board. This may be indicated by tack holes in the corners or spilled paint over folded edges or irregular margins. Manipulated impasto, sgraffito and stippling were all used to create texture. Kensett appears to have occasionally used a drying oil, rather than a natural resin, as a final varnish. Some of the paintings are still unvarnished. Changes which occur as the paintings age and other pigments used are also discussed. -- AATA