diff --git a/lib/matplotlib/animation.py b/lib/matplotlib/animation.py
index 03bc155c63a6..c2b2cbac7a69 100644
--- a/lib/matplotlib/animation.py
+++ b/lib/matplotlib/animation.py
@@ -38,7 +38,8 @@
 import contextlib
 import tempfile
 import warnings
-from matplotlib.cbook import iterable, is_string_like, deprecated
+from matplotlib.cbook import (iterable, is_string_like, deprecated,
+                              fspath_no_except)
 from matplotlib.compat import subprocess
 from matplotlib import verbose
 from matplotlib import rcParams, rcParamsDefault, rc_context
@@ -349,6 +350,7 @@ def _run(self):
             output = sys.stdout
         else:
             output = subprocess.PIPE
+        command = [fspath_no_except(cmd) for cmd in command]
         verbose.report('MovieWriter.run: running command: %s' %
                        ' '.join(command))
         self._proc = subprocess.Popen(command, shell=False,
diff --git a/lib/matplotlib/backends/backend_agg.py b/lib/matplotlib/backends/backend_agg.py
index 8f3bce4396b5..67ed5d8b8804 100644
--- a/lib/matplotlib/backends/backend_agg.py
+++ b/lib/matplotlib/backends/backend_agg.py
@@ -31,7 +31,8 @@
 from matplotlib import verbose, rcParams, __version__
 from matplotlib.backend_bases import (RendererBase, FigureManagerBase,
                                       FigureCanvasBase)
-from matplotlib.cbook import is_string_like, maxdict, restrict_dict
+from matplotlib.cbook import (is_string_like, maxdict, restrict_dict,
+                              fspath_no_except, to_filehandle)
 from matplotlib.figure import Figure
 from matplotlib.font_manager import findfont, get_font
 from matplotlib.ft2font import (LOAD_FORCE_AUTOHINT, LOAD_NO_HINTING,
@@ -563,8 +564,9 @@ def print_png(self, filename_or_obj, *args, **kwargs):
             metadata.update(user_metadata)
 
         try:
-            _png.write_png(renderer._renderer, filename_or_obj,
-                           self.figure.dpi, metadata=metadata)
+            _png.write_png(
+                renderer._renderer, fspath_no_except(filename_or_obj),
+                self.figure.dpi, metadata=metadata)
         finally:
             if close:
                 filename_or_obj.close()
@@ -620,7 +622,8 @@ def print_jpg(self, filename_or_obj, *args, **kwargs):
             if 'quality' not in options:
                 options['quality'] = rcParams['savefig.jpeg_quality']
 
-            return background.save(filename_or_obj, format='jpeg', **options)
+            return background.save(to_filehandle(filename_or_obj), format='jpeg',
+                              **options)
         print_jpeg = print_jpg
 
         # add TIFF support
@@ -630,7 +633,7 @@ def print_tif(self, filename_or_obj, *args, **kwargs):
                 return
             image = Image.frombuffer('RGBA', size, buf, 'raw', 'RGBA', 0, 1)
             dpi = (self.figure.dpi, self.figure.dpi)
-            return image.save(filename_or_obj, format='tiff',
+            return image.save(to_filehandle(filename_or_obj), format='tiff',
                               dpi=dpi)
         print_tiff = print_tif
 
diff --git a/lib/matplotlib/backends/backend_pdf.py b/lib/matplotlib/backends/backend_pdf.py
index abe502ab8b25..3476f30a58d5 100644
--- a/lib/matplotlib/backends/backend_pdf.py
+++ b/lib/matplotlib/backends/backend_pdf.py
@@ -35,7 +35,7 @@
                                       FigureManagerBase, FigureCanvasBase)
 from matplotlib.backends.backend_mixed import MixedModeRenderer
 from matplotlib.cbook import (Bunch, is_string_like, get_realpath_and_stat,
-                              is_writable_file_like, maxdict)
+                              is_writable_file_like, maxdict, fspath_no_except)
 from matplotlib.figure import Figure
 from matplotlib.font_manager import findfont, is_opentype_cff_font, get_font
 from matplotlib.afm import AFM
@@ -434,6 +434,7 @@ def __init__(self, filename, metadata=None):
         self.passed_in_file_object = False
         self.original_file_like = None
         self.tell_base = 0
+        filename = fspath_no_except(filename)
         if is_string_like(filename):
             fh = open(filename, 'wb')
         elif is_writable_file_like(filename):
diff --git a/lib/matplotlib/cbook/__init__.py b/lib/matplotlib/cbook/__init__.py
index 2bec9f2be6a4..012cc639464a 100644
--- a/lib/matplotlib/cbook/__init__.py
+++ b/lib/matplotlib/cbook/__init__.py
@@ -560,6 +560,7 @@ def to_filehandle(fname, flag='rU', return_opened=False):
     files is automatic, if the filename ends in .gz.  *flag* is a
     read/write flag for :func:`file`
     """
+    fname = fspath_no_except(fname)
     if is_string_like(fname):
         if fname.endswith('.gz'):
             # get rid of 'U' in flag for gzipped files.
@@ -619,6 +620,7 @@ def get_sample_data(fname, asfileobj=True):
         root = matplotlib.rcParams['examples.directory']
     else:
         root = os.path.join(matplotlib._get_data_path(), 'sample_data')
+    fname = fspath_no_except(fname)
     path = os.path.join(root, fname)
 
     if asfileobj:
@@ -827,6 +829,7 @@ def __init__(self):
         self._cache = {}
 
     def __call__(self, path):
+        path = fspath_no_except(path)
         result = self._cache.get(path)
         if result is None:
             realpath = os.path.realpath(path)
@@ -987,7 +990,7 @@ def listFiles(root, patterns='*', recurse=1, return_folders=0):
     pattern_list = patterns.split(';')
     results = []
 
-    for dirname, dirs, files in os.walk(root):
+    for dirname, dirs, files in os.walk(fspath_no_except(root)):
         # Append to results all relevant files (and perhaps folders)
         for name in files:
             fullname = os.path.normpath(os.path.join(dirname, name))
@@ -1011,10 +1014,10 @@ def get_recursive_filelist(args):
     files = []
 
     for arg in args:
-        if os.path.isfile(arg):
+        if os.path.isfile(fspath_no_except(arg)):
             files.append(arg)
             continue
-        if os.path.isdir(arg):
+        if os.path.isdir(fspath_no_except(arg)):
             newfiles = listFiles(arg, recurse=1, return_folders=1)
             files.extend(newfiles)
 
@@ -1543,6 +1546,7 @@ def simple_linear_interpolation(a, steps):
 
 @deprecated('2.1', alternative='shutil.rmtree')
 def recursive_remove(path):
+    path = fspath_no_except(path)
     if os.path.isdir(path):
         for fname in (glob.glob(os.path.join(path, '*')) +
                       glob.glob(os.path.join(path, '.*'))):
@@ -2412,7 +2416,7 @@ class TimeoutError(RuntimeError):
         pass
 
     def __init__(self, path):
-        self.path = path
+        self.path = fspath_no_except(path)
         self.end = "-" + str(os.getpid())
         self.lock_path = os.path.join(self.path, self.LOCKFN + self.end)
         self.pattern = os.path.join(self.path, self.LOCKFN + '-*')
@@ -2703,3 +2707,45 @@ def _get_key_params(self):
                              (params, str_func))
 
         return str_func, params
+
+
+try:
+    from os import fspath
+except ImportError:
+    def fspath(path):
+        """
+        Return the string representation of the path.
+        If str or bytes is passed in, it is returned unchanged.
+        This code comes from PEP 519, modified to support earlier versions of
+        python.
+
+        This is required for python < 3.6.
+        """
+        if isinstance(path, (six.text_type, six.binary_type)):
+            return path
+
+        # Work from the object's type to match method resolution of other magic
+        # methods.
+        path_type = type(path)
+        try:
+            return path_type.__fspath__(path)
+        except AttributeError:
+            if hasattr(path_type, '__fspath__'):
+                raise
+            try:
+                import pathlib
+            except ImportError:
+                pass
+            else:
+                if isinstance(path, pathlib.PurePath):
+                    return six.text_type(path)
+
+            raise TypeError("expected str, bytes or os.PathLike object, not " +
+                            path_type.__name__)
+
+
+def fspath_no_except(path):
+    try:
+        return fspath(path)
+    except TypeError:
+        return path
diff --git a/lib/matplotlib/image.py b/lib/matplotlib/image.py
index aa62c700fa9c..15c56aa896fa 100644
--- a/lib/matplotlib/image.py
+++ b/lib/matplotlib/image.py
@@ -574,7 +574,7 @@ def write_png(self, fname):
         """Write the image to png file with fname"""
         im = self.to_rgba(self._A[::-1] if self.origin == 'lower' else self._A,
                           bytes=True, norm=True)
-        _png.write_png(im, fname)
+        _png.write_png(im, cbook.fspath_no_except(fname))
 
     def set_data(self, A):
         """
diff --git a/lib/matplotlib/testing/__init__.py b/lib/matplotlib/testing/__init__.py
index 4cdfe4bd8b9e..ecb1c3ad979f 100644
--- a/lib/matplotlib/testing/__init__.py
+++ b/lib/matplotlib/testing/__init__.py
@@ -4,6 +4,8 @@
 import inspect
 import warnings
 from contextlib import contextmanager
+import shutil
+import tempfile
 
 import matplotlib
 from matplotlib.cbook import is_string_like, iterable
@@ -144,3 +146,21 @@ def setup():
 
     set_font_settings_for_testing()
     set_reproducibility_for_testing()
+
+
+@contextmanager
+def closed_tempfile(suffix='', text=None):
+    """
+    Context manager which yields the path to a closed temporary file with the
+    suffix `suffix`. The file will be deleted on exiting the context. An
+    additional argument `text` can be provided to have the file contain `text`.
+    """
+    with tempfile.NamedTemporaryFile(
+        'w+t', suffix=suffix, delete=False
+    ) as test_file:
+        file_name = test_file.name
+        if text is not None:
+            test_file.write(text)
+            test_file.flush()
+    yield file_name
+    shutil.rmtree(file_name, ignore_errors=True)
diff --git a/lib/matplotlib/tests/test_animation.py b/lib/matplotlib/tests/test_animation.py
index 017727016fe0..4898d55d3d6d 100644
--- a/lib/matplotlib/tests/test_animation.py
+++ b/lib/matplotlib/tests/test_animation.py
@@ -3,9 +3,7 @@
 
 import six
 
-import os
 import sys
-import tempfile
 
 import numpy as np
 import pytest
@@ -13,6 +11,7 @@
 import matplotlib as mpl
 from matplotlib import pyplot as plt
 from matplotlib import animation
+from ..testing import closed_tempfile
 
 
 class NullMovieWriter(animation.AbstractMovieWriter):
@@ -125,20 +124,7 @@ def isAvailable(self):
 ]
 
 
-# Smoke test for saving animations.  In the future, we should probably
-# design more sophisticated tests which compare resulting frames a-la
-# matplotlib.testing.image_comparison
-@pytest.mark.parametrize('writer, extension', WRITER_OUTPUT)
-def test_save_animation_smoketest(tmpdir, writer, extension):
-    try:
-        # for ImageMagick the rcparams must be patched to account for
-        # 'convert' being a built in MS tool, not the imagemagick
-        # tool.
-        writer._init_from_registry()
-    except AttributeError:
-        pass
-    if not animation.writers.is_available(writer):
-        pytest.skip("writer '%s' not available on this system" % writer)
+def _inner_animation(writer):
     fig, ax = plt.subplots()
     line, = ax.plot([], [])
 
@@ -162,17 +148,64 @@ def animate(i):
         y = np.sin(x + i)
         line.set_data(x, y)
         return line,
+    anim = animation.FuncAnimation(fig, animate, init_func=init, frames=5)
+    return fig, anim, dpi, codec
+
+
+# Smoke test for saving animations.  In the future, we should probably
+# design more sophisticated tests which compare resulting frames a-la
+# matplotlib.testing.image_comparison
+@pytest.mark.parametrize('writer, extension', WRITER_OUTPUT)
+def test_save_animation_smoketest(tmpdir, writer, extension):
+    try:
+        # for ImageMagick the rcparams must be patched to account for
+        # 'convert' being a built in MS tool, not the imagemagick
+        # tool.
+        writer._init_from_registry()
+    except AttributeError:
+        pass
+    if not animation.writers.is_available(writer):
+        pytest.skip("writer '%s' not available on this system" % writer)
+
+    fig, anim, dpi, codec = _inner_animation(writer)
 
     # Use temporary directory for the file-based writers, which produce a file
     # per frame with known names.
-    with tmpdir.as_cwd():
-        anim = animation.FuncAnimation(fig, animate, init_func=init, frames=5)
-        try:
-            anim.save('movie.' + extension, fps=30, writer=writer, bitrate=500,
-                      dpi=dpi, codec=codec)
-        except UnicodeDecodeError:
-            pytest.xfail("There can be errors in the numpy import stack, "
-                         "see issues #1891 and #2679")
+
+    with closed_tempfile(suffix='.' + extension) as fname:
+        anim.save(fname, fps=30, writer=writer, bitrate=500)
+
+
+@pytest.mark.parametrize('writer, extension', WRITER_OUTPUT)
+def test_save_animation_pep_519(writer, extension='mp4'):
+    class FakeFSPathClass(object):
+        def __init__(self, path):
+            self._path = path
+
+        def __fspath__(self):
+            return self._path
+    if not animation.writers.is_available(writer):
+        pytest.skip("writer '%s' not available on this system" % writer)
+
+    fig, anim, dpi, codec = _inner_animation(writer)
+    with closed_tempfile(suffix='.' + extension) as fname:
+        anim.save(FakeFSPathClass(fname), fps=30, writer=writer, bitrate=500,
+                  dpi=dpi, codec=codec)
+
+
+@pytest.mark.parametrize('writer, extension', WRITER_OUTPUT)
+def test_save_animation_pathlib(writer, extension='mp4'):
+    try:
+        from pathlib import Path
+    except ImportError:
+        raise pytest.skip("pathlib not installed")
+    if not animation.writers.is_available(writer):
+        pytest.skip("writer '%s' not available on this system" % writer)
+
+    fig, anim, dpi, codec = _inner_animation(writer)
+    with closed_tempfile(suffix='.' + extension) as fname:
+        anim.save(Path(fname), fps=30, writer=writer, bitrate=500,
+                  dpi=dpi, codec=codec)
 
 
 def test_no_length_frames():
diff --git a/lib/matplotlib/tests/test_backend_pdf.py b/lib/matplotlib/tests/test_backend_pdf.py
index 3529ea8541db..ae4a6e49b624 100644
--- a/lib/matplotlib/tests/test_backend_pdf.py
+++ b/lib/matplotlib/tests/test_backend_pdf.py
@@ -19,7 +19,7 @@
                                             _determinism_check)
 from matplotlib.testing.decorators import image_comparison
 from matplotlib import dviread
-
+from matplotlib.testing import closed_tempfile
 
 needs_tex = pytest.mark.xfail(
     not checkdep_tex(),
@@ -71,14 +71,12 @@ def test_multipage_pagecount():
 
 def test_multipage_keep_empty():
     from matplotlib.backends.backend_pdf import PdfPages
-    from tempfile import NamedTemporaryFile
     # test empty pdf files
     # test that an empty pdf is left behind with keep_empty=True (default)
-    with NamedTemporaryFile(delete=False) as tmp:
+    with closed_tempfile(".pdf") as tmp:
         with PdfPages(tmp) as pdf:
             filename = pdf._file.fh.name
         assert os.path.exists(filename)
-    os.remove(filename)
     # test if an empty pdf is deleting itself afterwards with keep_empty=False
     with PdfPages(filename, keep_empty=False) as pdf:
         pass
@@ -88,19 +86,17 @@ def test_multipage_keep_empty():
     ax = fig.add_subplot(111)
     ax.plot([1, 2, 3])
     # test that a non-empty pdf is left behind with keep_empty=True (default)
-    with NamedTemporaryFile(delete=False) as tmp:
+    with closed_tempfile(".pdf") as tmp:
         with PdfPages(tmp) as pdf:
             filename = pdf._file.fh.name
             pdf.savefig()
         assert os.path.exists(filename)
-    os.remove(filename)
     # test that a non-empty pdf is left behind with keep_empty=False
-    with NamedTemporaryFile(delete=False) as tmp:
+    with closed_tempfile(".pdf") as tmp:
         with PdfPages(tmp, keep_empty=False) as pdf:
             filename = pdf._file.fh.name
             pdf.savefig()
         assert os.path.exists(filename)
-    os.remove(filename)
 
 
 def test_composite_image():
@@ -191,3 +187,32 @@ def psfont(*args, **kwargs):
     ax.text(0.5, 0.5, 'hello')
     with tempfile.TemporaryFile() as tmpfile, pytest.raises(ValueError):
         fig.savefig(tmpfile, format='pdf')
+
+
+def test_pdfpages_accept_pep_519():
+    class FakeFSPathClass(object):
+        def __init__(self, path):
+            self._path = path
+
+        def __fspath__(self):
+            return self._path
+    with closed_tempfile(suffix='.pdf') as fname:
+        with PdfPages(FakeFSPathClass(fname)) as pdf:
+            fig, ax = plt.subplots()
+            ax.plot([1, 2], [3, 4])
+            pdf.savefig(fig)
+
+
+def test_savefig_accept_pathlib():
+    try:
+        from pathlib import Path
+    except ImportError:
+        raise pytest.skip("pathlib not installed")
+
+    fig, ax = plt.subplots()
+    ax.plot([1, 2], [3, 4])
+    with closed_tempfile(suffix='.pdf') as fname:
+        with PdfPages(Path(fname)) as pdf:
+            fig, ax = plt.subplots()
+            ax.plot([1, 2], [3, 4])
+            pdf.savefig(fig)
diff --git a/lib/matplotlib/tests/test_cbook.py b/lib/matplotlib/tests/test_cbook.py
index 12a79639a3a8..cc4825cdf971 100644
--- a/lib/matplotlib/tests/test_cbook.py
+++ b/lib/matplotlib/tests/test_cbook.py
@@ -13,6 +13,7 @@
 from numpy.testing.utils import (assert_array_equal, assert_approx_equal,
                                  assert_array_almost_equal)
 import pytest
+from matplotlib.testing import closed_tempfile
 
 import matplotlib.cbook as cbook
 import matplotlib.colors as mcolors
@@ -533,3 +534,27 @@ def test_bounded(self, string, bounded):
         func_parser = cbook._StringFuncParser(string)
         b = func_parser.is_bounded_0_1
         assert_array_equal(b, bounded)
+
+
+def test_to_filehandle_accept_pep_519():
+    class FakeFSPathClass(object):
+        def __init__(self, path):
+            self._path = path
+
+        def __fspath__(self):
+            return self._path
+
+    with closed_tempfile() as tmpfile:
+        pep519_path = FakeFSPathClass(tmpfile)
+        cbook.to_filehandle(pep519_path)
+
+
+def test_to_filehandle_accept_pathlib():
+    try:
+        from pathlib import Path
+    except ImportError:
+        raise pytest.skip("pathlib not installed")
+
+    with closed_tempfile() as tmpfile:
+        path = Path(tmpfile)
+        cbook.to_filehandle(path)
diff --git a/lib/matplotlib/tests/test_figure.py b/lib/matplotlib/tests/test_figure.py
index f072fa04364c..6d44e819a521 100644
--- a/lib/matplotlib/tests/test_figure.py
+++ b/lib/matplotlib/tests/test_figure.py
@@ -4,6 +4,7 @@
 from numpy.testing import assert_equal
 from matplotlib import rcParams
 from matplotlib.testing.decorators import image_comparison
+from matplotlib.testing import skip, closed_tempfile
 from matplotlib.axes import Axes
 from matplotlib.ticker import AutoMinorLocator, FixedFormatter
 import matplotlib.pyplot as plt
@@ -273,3 +274,31 @@ def test_autofmt_xdate(which):
     if which in ('both', 'minor'):
         for label in fig.axes[0].get_xticklabels(True, 'minor'):
             assert int(label.get_rotation()) == angle
+
+
+@pytest.mark.parametrize('ext', ['png', 'svg', 'pdf'])
+def test_savefig_accept_pep_519(ext):
+    class FakeFSPathClass(object):
+        def __init__(self, path):
+            self._path = path
+
+        def __fspath__(self):
+            return self._path
+
+    fig, ax = plt.subplots()
+    ax.plot([1, 2], [3, 4])
+    with closed_tempfile(suffix='.{}'.format(ext)) as fname:
+        fig.savefig(FakeFSPathClass(fname))
+
+
+@pytest.mark.parametrize('ext', ['png', 'svg', 'pdf'])
+def test_savefig_accept_pathlib(ext):
+    try:
+        from pathlib import Path
+    except ImportError:
+        skip("pathlib not installed")
+
+    fig, ax = plt.subplots()
+    ax.plot([1, 2], [3, 4])
+    with closed_tempfile(suffix='.{}'.format(ext)) as fname:
+        fig.savefig(Path(fname))
diff --git a/lib/matplotlib/tests/test_font_manager.py b/lib/matplotlib/tests/test_font_manager.py
index 5e7a63790667..274c93a25795 100644
--- a/lib/matplotlib/tests/test_font_manager.py
+++ b/lib/matplotlib/tests/test_font_manager.py
@@ -8,7 +8,7 @@
 import warnings
 
 import pytest
-
+from matplotlib.testing import closed_tempfile
 from matplotlib.font_manager import (
     findfont, FontProperties, fontManager, json_dump, json_load, get_font,
     get_fontconfig_fonts, is_opentype_cff_font, fontManager as fm)
@@ -41,15 +41,9 @@ def test_font_priority():
 def test_json_serialization():
     # on windows, we can't open a file twice, so save the name and unlink
     # manually...
-    try:
-        name = None
-        with tempfile.NamedTemporaryFile(delete=False) as temp:
-            name = temp.name
-        json_dump(fontManager, name)
-        copy = json_load(name)
-    finally:
-        if name and os.path.exists(name):
-            os.remove(name)
+    with closed_tempfile(".json") as temp:
+        json_dump(fontManager, temp)
+        copy = json_load(temp)
     with warnings.catch_warnings():
         warnings.filterwarnings('ignore', 'findfont: Font family.*not found')
         for prop in ({'family': 'STIXGeneral'},
diff --git a/lib/matplotlib/tests/test_image.py b/lib/matplotlib/tests/test_image.py
index c94772924a75..1acd377d25cc 100644
--- a/lib/matplotlib/tests/test_image.py
+++ b/lib/matplotlib/tests/test_image.py
@@ -12,6 +12,7 @@
 from matplotlib.testing.decorators import image_comparison
 from matplotlib.image import (AxesImage, BboxImage, FigureImage,
                               NonUniformImage, PcolorImage)
+from matplotlib.testing import closed_tempfile
 from matplotlib.transforms import Bbox, Affine2D, TransformedBbox
 from matplotlib import rcParams, rc_context
 from matplotlib import patches
@@ -783,3 +784,29 @@ def test_empty_imshow():
 def test_imshow_float128():
     fig, ax = plt.subplots()
     ax.imshow(np.zeros((3, 3), dtype=np.longdouble))
+
+
+def test_imsave_accept_pep_519():
+    class FakeFSPathClass(object):
+        def __init__(self, path):
+            self._path = path
+
+        def __fspath__(self):
+            return self._path
+
+    a = np.array([[1, 2], [3, 4]])
+    with closed_tempfile(suffix='.pdf') as fname:
+        pep519_path = FakeFSPathClass(fname)
+        plt.imsave(pep519_path, a)
+
+
+def test_imsave_accept_pathlib():
+    try:
+        from pathlib import Path
+    except ImportError:
+        raise pytest.skip("pathlib not installed")
+
+    a = np.array([[1, 2], [3, 4]])
+    with closed_tempfile(suffix='.pdf') as fname:
+        path = Path(fname)
+        plt.imsave(path, a)
diff --git a/lib/matplotlib/tests/test_testing.py b/lib/matplotlib/tests/test_testing.py
new file mode 100644
index 000000000000..17d37fd6ba56
--- /dev/null
+++ b/lib/matplotlib/tests/test_testing.py
@@ -0,0 +1,21 @@
+from __future__ import (absolute_import, division, print_function,
+                        unicode_literals)
+
+import os.path
+
+from matplotlib.testing import closed_tempfile
+
+
+def test_closed_tempfile():
+    with closed_tempfile(".txt") as fname:
+        assert os.path.exists(fname)
+        assert fname.endswith(".txt")
+        name = fname
+    assert os.path.exists(name)
+
+
+def test_closed_tempfile_text():
+    text = "This is a test"
+    with closed_tempfile(".txt", text=text) as f:
+        with open(f, "rt") as g:
+            assert text == g.read()