diff --git a/util/wmsetbg.c b/util/wmsetbg.c
index b363c201..80a845e2 100644
--- a/util/wmsetbg.c
+++ b/util/wmsetbg.c
@@ -230,6 +230,8 @@ applyImage(RContext * rc, BackgroundTexture * texture, RImage * image, char type
 
 			if (!RConvertImage(rc, image, &pixmap)) {
 				wwarning("could not convert texture:%s", RMessageForError(RErrorCode));
+				if (fimage)
+					RReleaseImage(image);
 				return;
 			}