diff --git a/clients/image.c b/clients/image.c
index cbd466cf..1f3c77c2 100644
--- a/clients/image.c
+++ b/clients/image.c
@@ -373,6 +373,7 @@ image_create(struct display *display, const char *filename,
 
 	if (!image->image) {
 		fprintf(stderr, "could not find the image %s!\n", b);
+		free(image->filename);
 		free(image);
 		return NULL;
 	}