diff --git a/src/_macosx.m b/src/_macosx.m
index dcb236a861f3..3e52fdf81459 100755
--- a/src/_macosx.m
+++ b/src/_macosx.m
@@ -1287,8 +1287,10 @@ - (void)setCanvas: (PyObject*)newCanvas
 }
 
 static void _buffer_release(void* info, const void* data, size_t size) {
+    PyGILState_STATE gstate = PyGILState_Ensure();
     PyBuffer_Release((Py_buffer *)info);
     free(info);
+    PyGILState_Release(gstate);
 }
 
 static int _copy_agg_buffer(CGContextRef cr, PyObject *renderer)