While an accomplished painter, he is best known for his ink drawings, particularly his illustrations for Charles F. Hazeltine's edition of Shakespeare.
On March 20, 1871, Bensell married Eliza Robert Poole, a musician who frequently sang in the city's churches.
Bensell and his brother George both attended and graduated from the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts.
At first primarily a painter, Bensell made his reputation and career as an illustrator in the magazines and books of his day.
B. Lippincott & Co., Charles Scribner's Sons and J. M. Stoddard & Co. His illustrations often appeared together with those of his brother until the latter's premature death in 1879.