diff --git a/lib/matplotlib/artist.py b/lib/matplotlib/artist.py
index b79d3cc62338..d5b8631e95df 100644
--- a/lib/matplotlib/artist.py
+++ b/lib/matplotlib/artist.py
@@ -493,9 +493,6 @@ def contains(self, mouseevent):
             such as which points are contained in the pick radius. See the
             individual Artist subclasses for details.
         """
-        inside, info = self._default_contains(mouseevent)
-        if inside is not None:
-            return inside, info
         _log.warning("%r needs 'contains' method", self.__class__.__name__)
         return False, {}