diff --git a/.appveyor.yml b/.appveyor.yml
index b5efd3af0256..b466404a50c2 100644
--- a/.appveyor.yml
+++ b/.appveyor.yml
@@ -60,7 +60,7 @@ install:
   # if conda-forge gets a new pyqt, it might be nice to install it as well to have more backends
   # https://github.com/conda-forge/conda-forge.github.io/issues/157#issuecomment-223536381
   - conda create -q -n test-environment python=%PYTHON_VERSION%
-    freetype=2.6 zlib=1.2 tk=8.5
+    freetype=2.6 tk=8.5
     pip setuptools numpy sphinx tornado
   - activate test-environment
   - echo %PYTHON_VERSION% %TARGET_ARCH%
@@ -81,9 +81,9 @@ test_script:
   # Now build the thing..
   - set LINK=/LIBPATH:%cd%\lib
   - pip install -ve .
-  # these should show no z or freetype dll...
+  # this should show no freetype dll...
   - set "DUMPBIN=%VS140COMNTOOLS%\..\..\VC\bin\dumpbin.exe"
-  - 'if x%MPLSTATICBUILD% == xTrue "%DUMPBIN%" /DEPENDENTS lib\matplotlib\ft2font*.pyd | findstr freetype.*.dll && exit /b 1 || exit /b 0'
+  - '"%DUMPBIN%" /DEPENDENTS lib\matplotlib\ft2font*.pyd | findstr freetype.*.dll && exit /b 1 || exit /b 0'
 
   # this are optional dependencies so that we don't skip so many tests...
   - if x%TEST_ALL% == xyes conda install -q ffmpeg inkscape miktex pillow
@@ -98,9 +98,8 @@ test_script:
   - pytest %PYTEST_ARGS%
 
 after_test:
-  # After the tests were a success, build wheels with the static libs
+  # After the tests were a success, build wheels.
   # Hide the output, the copied files really clutter the build log...
-  - set MPLSTATICBUILD=True
   - 'python setup.py bdist_wheel > NUL:'
   - dir dist\
   - echo finished...
diff --git a/INSTALL.rst b/INSTALL.rst
index c6574511f590..a725d24f4751 100644
--- a/INSTALL.rst
+++ b/INSTALL.rst
@@ -98,8 +98,8 @@ toolchain is prefixed. This may be used for cross compiling. ::
   export CXX=x86_64-pc-linux-gnu-g++
   export PKG_CONFIG=x86_64-pc-linux-gnu-pkg-config
 
-Once you have satisfied the requirements detailed below (mainly
-Python, NumPy, and FreeType), you can build Matplotlib.
+Once you have satisfied the requirements detailed below (i.e., Python and
+FreeType), you can build Matplotlib.
 ::
 
   cd matplotlib
@@ -165,101 +165,78 @@ etc., you can install the following:
 * `LaTeX <https://miktex.org/>`_ and `GhostScript (>=9.0)
   <https://ghostscript.com/download/>`_ : for rendering text with LaTeX.
 
-.. note::
-
-   Matplotlib depends on non-Python libraries.
+FreeType
+--------
 
-   On Linux and OSX, pkg-config_ can be used to find required non-Python
-   libraries and thus make the install go more smoothly if the libraries and
-   headers are not in the expected locations.
+Matplotlib depends on FreeType, a font rendering library.  It can either
+download and build its own copy of the library, or use a copy of FreeType
+already installed in your system.
 
-   .. _pkg-config: https://www.freedesktop.org/wiki/Software/pkg-config/
+The easiest option is to make Matplotlib download and build FreeType.  This is
+done by setting the :envvar:`MPLLOCALFREETYPE` environment variable to 1 -- on
+Linux and OSX:
 
-   If not using pkg-config (in particular on Windows), you may need to set the
-   include path (to the FreeType and zlib headers) and link path (to
-   the FreeType and zlib libraries) explicitly, if they are not in
-   standard locations.  This can be done using standard environment variables
-   -- on Linux and OSX:
+.. code-block:: sh
 
-   .. code-block:: sh
+   export MPLLOCALFREETYPE=1
 
-      export CFLAGS='-I/directory/containing/ft2build.h ...'
-      export LDFLAGS='-L/directory/containing/libfreetype.so ...'
+and on Windows:
 
-   and on Windows:
+.. code-block:: bat
 
-   .. code-block:: bat
+   set MPLLOCALFREETYPE=1
 
-      set CL=/IC:\directory\containing\ft2build.h ...
-      set LINK=/LIBPATH:C:\directory\containing\freetype.lib ...
+and you can continue the installation (``python -m pip install .``), ignoring
+everything that follows.
 
-   where ``...`` means "also give, in the same format, the directories
-   containing ``zlib.h`` for the include path, and for
-   ``libz.so``/``z.lib`` for the link path."
-
-.. note::
+If you wish, instead, to use the system FreeType, you need to install the
+FreeType library and headers.  This can be achieved using a package manager:
 
-  The following libraries are shipped with Matplotlib:
+.. code-block:: sh
 
-  - ``Agg``: the Anti-Grain Geometry C++ rendering engine;
-  - ``qhull``: to compute Delaunay triangulation;
-  - ``ttconv``: a TrueType font utility.
+   # Pick ONE of the following:
+   sudo apt install libfreetype6-dev  # Debian/Ubuntu
+   sudo dnf install freetype-devel  # Fedora
+   brew install freetype  # macOS with Homebrew
+   conda install freetype  # conda, any OS
 
-.. _build_linux:
+On Linux and macOS, it is also recommended to install pkg-config_, a helper
+tool for locating FreeType:
 
-Building on Linux
------------------
+.. code-block:: sh
 
-It is easiest to use your system package manager to install the dependencies.
+   # Pick ONE of the following:
+   sudo apt install pkg-config  # Debian/Ubuntu
+   sudo dnf install pkgconf  # Fedora
+   brew install pkg-config  # macOS with Homebrew
+   conda install pkg-config  # conda
 
-If you are on Debian/Ubuntu, you can get all the dependencies
-required to build Matplotlib with::
+.. _pkg-config: https://www.freedesktop.org/wiki/Software/pkg-config/
 
-   sudo apt-get build-dep python-matplotlib
+If not using pkg-config (in particular on Windows), you may need to set the
+include path (to the FreeType headers) and link path (to the FreeType library)
+explicitly, if they are not in standard locations.  This can be done using
+standard environment variables -- on Linux and OSX:
 
-If you are on Fedora, you can get all the dependencies required to build
-Matplotlib with::
+.. code-block:: sh
 
-   sudo dnf builddep python-matplotlib
+   export CFLAGS='-I/directory/containing/ft2build.h'
+   export LDFLAGS='-L/directory/containing/libfreetype.so'
 
-If you are on RedHat, you can get all the dependencies required to build
-Matplotlib by first installing ``yum-builddep`` and then running::
+and on Windows:
 
-   su -c "yum-builddep python-matplotlib"
+.. code-block:: bat
 
-These commands do not build Matplotlib, but instead get and install the
-build dependencies, which will make building from source easier.
+   set CL=/IC:\directory\containing\ft2build.h
+   set LINK=/LIBPATH:C:\directory\containing\freetype.lib
 
-.. _build_osx:
-
-Building on macOS
------------------
-
-The build situation on macOS is complicated by the various places one
-can get FreeType (MacPorts, Fink,
-/usr/X11R6), the different architectures (e.g., x86, ppc, universal), and
-the different macOS versions (e.g., 10.4 and 10.5). We recommend that you build
-the way we do for the macOS release: get the source from the tarball or the
-git repository and install the required dependencies through a third-party
-package manager. Two widely used package managers are Homebrew, and MacPorts.
-The following example illustrates how to install FreeType using
-``brew``::
-
-  brew install freetype pkg-config
-
-If you are using MacPorts, execute the following instead::
-
-  port install freetype pkgconfig
-
-After installing the above requirements, install Matplotlib from source by
-executing::
+.. note::
 
-  python -m pip install .
+  The following libraries are shipped with Matplotlib:
 
-Note that your environment is somewhat important. Some conda users have
-found that, to run the tests, their PYTHONPATH must include
-/path/to/anaconda/.../site-packages and their DYLD_FALLBACK_LIBRARY_PATH
-must include /path/to/anaconda/lib.
+  - ``Agg``: the Anti-Grain Geometry C++ rendering engine;
+  - ``qhull``: to compute Delaunay triangulation;
+  - ``ttconv``: a TrueType font utility.
 
 .. _build_windows:
 
@@ -269,42 +246,14 @@ Building on Windows
 The Python shipped from https://www.python.org is compiled with Visual Studio
 2015 for 3.5+.  Python extensions should be compiled with the same
 compiler, see e.g.
-https://packaging.python.org/guides/packaging-binary-extensions/#setting-up-a-build-environment-on-windows
+https://packaging.python.org/guides/packaging-binary-extensions/#binary-extensions-for-windows
 for how to set up a build environment.
 
-Since there is no canonical Windows package manager, the methods for building
-FreeType and zlib from source code are documented as a build script
-at `matplotlib-winbuild <https://github.com/jbmohler/matplotlib-winbuild>`_.
-
-There are a few possibilities to build Matplotlib on Windows:
-
-* Wheels via `matplotlib-winbuild <https://github.com/jbmohler/matplotlib-winbuild>`_
-* Wheels by using conda packages (see below)
-* Conda packages (see below)
-
 If you are building your own Matplotlib wheels (or sdists), note that any DLLs
 that you copy into the source tree will be packaged too.
 
-Wheel builds using conda packages
-^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
-
-This is a wheel build, but we use conda packages to get all the requirements.
-FreeType is statically linked and therefore not needed during the wheel install.
-
-Set up the conda environment. Note, if you want a qt backend, add ``pyqt`` to
-the list of conda packages.
-
-::
-
-  conda create -n "matplotlib_build" python=3.7 numpy python-dateutil pyparsing tornado cycler tk zlib freetype
-  conda activate matplotlib_build
-  # force the build against static zlib libraries
-  set MPLSTATICBUILD=True
-  python setup.py bdist_wheel
-
-
 Conda packages
-^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
+--------------
 
 The conda packaging scripts for Matplotlib are available at
 https://github.com/conda-forge/matplotlib-feedstock.
diff --git a/ci/azure-pipelines-steps.yml b/ci/azure-pipelines-steps.yml
index 8064064b2020..3337485be857 100644
--- a/ci/azure-pipelines-steps.yml
+++ b/ci/azure-pipelines-steps.yml
@@ -16,16 +16,6 @@ steps:
     prerelease: true
   condition: and(succeeded(), eq(variables['python.version'], 'Pre'))
 
-- ${{ if eq(parameters.installer, 'nuget') }}:
-  - task: NuGetToolInstaller@0
-    displayName: 'Use latest available Nuget'
-
-  - script: |
-      nuget install zlib-msvc14-x64 -ExcludeVersion -OutputDirectory "$(build.BinariesDirectory)"
-      echo ##vso[task.prependpath]$(build.BinariesDirectory)\zlib-msvc14-x64\build\native\bin_release
-
-    displayName: 'Install dependencies with nuget'
-
 - ${{ if eq(parameters.installer, 'brew') }}:
   - script: |
       brew cask install xquartz
diff --git a/doc/faq/environment_variables_faq.rst b/doc/faq/environment_variables_faq.rst
index 83896a70a5ed..04e7bccaef96 100644
--- a/doc/faq/environment_variables_faq.rst
+++ b/doc/faq/environment_variables_faq.rst
@@ -31,9 +31,14 @@ Environment Variables
   defined, :file:`{HOME}/.config/matplotlib` is generally used on unix-like
   systems and :file:`{HOME}/.matplotlib` is used on other platforms, if they are
   writable. Otherwise, the python standard library :func:`tempfile.gettempdir`
-  is used to find a base directory in which the :file:`matplotlib` subdirectory 
+  is used to find a base directory in which the :file:`matplotlib` subdirectory
   is created.
 
+.. envvar:: MPLLOCALFREETYPE
+
+  If set, this environment variable directs Matplotlib's build script to
+  download and build its own copy of the FreeType library.
+
 .. envvar:: PATH
 
   The list of directories searched to find executable programs.
diff --git a/doc/faq/installing_faq.rst b/doc/faq/installing_faq.rst
index 7a88b32bf2db..7777a98eb957 100644
--- a/doc/faq/installing_faq.rst
+++ b/doc/faq/installing_faq.rst
@@ -182,26 +182,13 @@ or::
 
    git clone git://github.com/matplotlib/matplotlib.git
 
-and build and install as usual with::
+and build and install with::
 
    cd matplotlib
+   export MPLLOCALFREETYPE=1  # on Linux and OSX.
+   set MPLLOCALFREETYPE=1  # on Windows.
    python -mpip install .
 
-.. note::
-
-   If you are on Debian/Ubuntu, you can get all the dependencies required to
-   build Matplotlib with::
-
-      sudo apt-get build-dep python-matplotlib
-
-   If you are on Fedora/RedHat, you can get all the dependencies required to
-   build Matplotlib by first installing ``yum-builddep`` and then running::
-
-      su -c 'yum-builddep python-matplotlib'
-
-   This does not build Matplotlib, but it does get all of the build
-   dependencies, which will make building from source easier.
-
 If you want to be able to follow the development branch as it changes
 just replace the last step with::
 
@@ -211,8 +198,6 @@ This creates links and installs the command line script in the appropriate
 places.
 
 .. note::
-   OSX users please see the :ref:`build_osx` guide.
-
    Windows users please see the :ref:`build_windows` guide.
 
 Then, if you want to update your Matplotlib at any time, just do::
diff --git a/setupext.py b/setupext.py
index 10ae966364de..e3680e929d5a 100644
--- a/setupext.py
+++ b/setupext.py
@@ -151,32 +151,23 @@ def write_cache(local_fn, data):
 # matplotlib build options, which can be altered using setup.cfg
 options = {
     'backend': None,
-    'staticbuild': False,
-    }
+}
 
 
 setup_cfg = os.environ.get('MPLSETUPCFG', 'setup.cfg')
 if os.path.exists(setup_cfg):
     config = configparser.ConfigParser()
     config.read(setup_cfg)
-
     if config.has_option('rc_options', 'backend'):
         options['backend'] = config.get("rc_options", "backend")
-
     if config.has_option('test', 'local_freetype'):
         options['local_freetype'] = config.getboolean("test", "local_freetype")
-
-    if config.has_option('build', 'staticbuild'):
-        options['staticbuild'] = config.getboolean("build", "staticbuild")
 else:
     config = None
 
 lft = bool(os.environ.get('MPLLOCALFREETYPE', False))
 options['local_freetype'] = lft or options.get('local_freetype', False)
 
-staticbuild = bool(os.environ.get('MPLSTATICBUILD', os.name == 'nt'))
-options['staticbuild'] = staticbuild or options.get('staticbuild', False)
-
 
 if '-q' in sys.argv or '--quiet' in sys.argv:
     def print_raw(*args, **kwargs): pass  # Suppress our own output.
@@ -202,21 +193,6 @@ def get_buffer_hash(fd):
     return hasher.hexdigest()
 
 
-def deplib(libname):
-    if sys.platform != 'win32':
-        return libname
-
-    known_libs = {
-        'z': ('zlib', 'static'),
-    }
-
-    libname, static_postfix = known_libs[libname]
-    if options['staticbuild']:
-        libname += static_postfix
-
-    return libname
-
-
 @functools.lru_cache(1)  # We only need to compute this once.
 def get_pkg_config():
     """
@@ -521,7 +497,7 @@ def add_flags(self, ext):
                 ext, 'freetype2',
                 atleast_version='9.11.3',
                 alt_exec=['freetype-config'],
-                default_libraries=['freetype', deplib('z')])
+                default_libraries=['freetype'])
             ext.define_macros.append(('FREETYPE_BUILD_TYPE', 'system'))
 
     def do_custom_build(self):