diff --git a/lib/matplotlib/backends/backend_gtkagg.py b/lib/matplotlib/backends/backend_gtkagg.py
index 9a765f903d2e..c6ad67640417 100644
--- a/lib/matplotlib/backends/backend_gtkagg.py
+++ b/lib/matplotlib/backends/backend_gtkagg.py
@@ -33,7 +33,6 @@ def _get_toolbar(self, canvas):
             toolbar = None
         return toolbar
 
-FigureCanvas = FigureManagerGTKAgg
 
 def new_figure_manager(num, *args, **kwargs):
     """
@@ -112,6 +111,8 @@ def print_png(self, filename, *args, **kwargs):
         agg = self.switch_backends(FigureCanvasAgg)
         return agg.print_png(filename, *args, **kwargs)
 
+FigureCanvas = FigureCanvasGTKAgg
+
 """\
 Traceback (most recent call last):
   File "/home/titan/johnh/local/lib/python2.3/site-packages/matplotlib/backends/backend_gtk.py", line 304, in expose_event