diff --git a/lib/matplotlib/backends/_backend_tk.py b/lib/matplotlib/backends/_backend_tk.py
index e5ef40caf74f..037322dc8573 100644
--- a/lib/matplotlib/backends/_backend_tk.py
+++ b/lib/matplotlib/backends/_backend_tk.py
@@ -1052,7 +1052,7 @@ def new_figure_manager_given_figure(cls, num, figure):
             rcParams['datapath'], 'images', 'matplotlib.ppm')
         icon_img = Tk.PhotoImage(file=icon_fname)
         try:
-            window.tk.call('wm', 'foobar', window._w, icon_img)
+            window.tk.call('wm', 'iconphoto', window._w, icon_img)
         except Exception as exc:
             # log the failure (due e.g. to Tk version), but carry on
             _log.info('Could not load matplotlib icon: %s', exc)