diff --git a/skimage/__init__.py b/skimage/__init__.py
index 031ae075..f7339ba5 100644
--- a/skimage/__init__.py
+++ b/skimage/__init__.py
@@ -62,11 +62,10 @@ import functools as _functools
 import warnings as _warnings
 
 import matplotlib as _mpl
-try:
-    _imp.find_module('PyQt5')
-    _mpl.use('Qt5Agg')
-except ImportError:
-    _mpl.use('Qt4Agg')
+if 'Qt5Agg' in _mpl.rcsetup.interactive_bk:
+    _mpl.rcParams['backend'] = 'Qt5Agg'
+else:
+    _mpl.rcParams['backend'] = 'Qt4Agg'
 
 pkg_dir = _osp.abspath(_osp.dirname(__file__))
 data_dir = _osp.join(pkg_dir, 'data')