matplotlib
diff --git a/‎lib/matplotlib/image.py
Lines changed: 13 additions & 4 deletions b/‎lib/matplotlib/image.py
Lines changed: 13 additions & 4 deletions
diff --git a/‎lib/matplotlib/testing/conftest.py
Lines changed: 1 addition & 0 deletions b/‎lib/matplotlib/testing/conftest.py
Lines changed: 1 addition & 0 deletions
diff --git a/‎lib/matplotlib/tests/test_image.py
Lines changed: 6 additions & 0 deletions b/‎lib/matplotlib/tests/test_image.py
Lines changed: 6 additions & 0 deletions
@@ -8,7 +8,6 @@
 import logging
 from numbers import Number
 from pathlib import Path
-import urllib.parse
 
 import numpy as np
 import PIL.PngImagePlugin
@@ -1443,9 +1442,12 @@ def imread(fname, format=None):
         - (M, N, 3) for RGB images.
         - (M, N, 4) for RGBA images.
     """
+    # hide imports to speed initial import on systems with slow linkers
+    from urllib import parse
+
     if format is None:
         if isinstance(fname, str):
-            parsed = urllib.parse.urlparse(fname)
+            parsed = parse.urlparse(fname)
             # If the string is a URL (Windows paths appear as if they have a
             # length-1 scheme), assume png.
             if len(parsed.scheme) > 1:
@@ -1468,10 +1470,17 @@ def imread(fname, format=None):
     img_open = (
         PIL.PngImagePlugin.PngImageFile if ext == 'png' else PIL.Image.open)
     if isinstance(fname, str):
-        parsed = urllib.parse.urlparse(fname)
+
+        parsed = parse.urlparse(fname)
         if len(parsed.scheme) > 1:  # Pillow doesn't handle URLs directly.
+            # hide imports to speed initial import on systems with slow linkers
             from urllib import request
-            with urllib.request.urlopen(fname) as response:
+            with request.urlopen(fname) as response:
+                import io
+                try:
+                    response.seek(0)
+                except (AttributeError, io.UnsupportedOperation):
+                    response = io.BytesIO(response.read())
                 return imread(response, format=ext)
     with img_open(fname) as image:
         return (_pil_png_to_float_array(image)
 
@@ -16,6 +16,7 @@ def pytest_configure(config):
         ("markers", "style: Set alternate Matplotlib style temporarily."),
         ("markers", "baseline_images: Compare output against references."),
         ("markers", "pytz: Tests that require pytz to be installed."),
+        ("markers", "network: Tests that reach out to the network."),
         ("filterwarnings", "error"),
     ]:
         config.addinivalue_line(key, value)
 
@@ -1118,3 +1118,9 @@ def test_exact_vmin():
 
     # check than the RBGA values are the same
     assert np.all(from_image == direct_computation)
+
+
+@pytest.mark.network
+@pytest.mark.flaky
+def test_https_imread_smoketest():
+    v = mimage.imread('https://matplotlib.org/1.5.0/_static/logo2.png')