Identification of substances quite frequently is an important task encountered in the inspection and treatment of artworks. Aided or unaided visual observation is probably the most widely employed technique. Fortunately, this is accomplished routinely without any need to disturb the materials. However, if chemical, analytical, spectroscopic, nuclear, etc. data are needed, it is frequently necessary to sacrifice and excised specimen in order to perform the measurement. During the past decade a non-destructive analytical technique known as phoroacoustic spectroscopy (PAS) has found widespread utility in materials and biological sciences as well as in the remote sensing of air pollution. We have found that it has potential also as a non-destructive tool in characterizing and identifying pigmented materials encountered in art conservation practices.