diff --git a/lib/matplotlib/figure.py b/lib/matplotlib/figure.py
index a9c0b3300f69..e3142526fef1 100644
--- a/lib/matplotlib/figure.py
+++ b/lib/matplotlib/figure.py
@@ -240,7 +240,7 @@ class Figure(Artist):
        For multiple figure images, the figure will make composite
        images depending on the renderer option_image_nocomposite
        function.  If suppressComposite is True|False, this will
-       override the renderer
+       override the renderer.
     """
 
     def __str__(self):
@@ -254,6 +254,7 @@ def __init__(self,
                  linewidth = 0.0,   # the default linewidth of the frame
                  frameon = True,    # whether or not to draw the figure frame
                  subplotpars = None, # default to rc
+                 tight_layout = None, # default to rc figure.autolayout
                  ):
         """
         *figsize*
@@ -276,6 +277,11 @@ def __init__(self,
 
         *subplotpars*
             A :class:`SubplotParams` instance, defaults to rc
+
+        *tight_layout*
+            If *False* use *subplotpars*; if *True* adjust subplot
+            parameters using :meth:`tight_layout`.  Defaults to
+            rc ``figure.autolayout``.
         """
         Artist.__init__(self)
 
@@ -311,6 +317,7 @@ def __init__(self,
             subplotpars = SubplotParams()
 
         self.subplotpars = subplotpars
+        self.set_tight_layout(tight_layout)
 
         self._axstack = AxesStack()  # track all figure axes and current axes
         self.clf()
@@ -329,6 +336,24 @@ def _set_dpi(self, dpi):
         self.callbacks.process('dpi_changed', self)
     dpi = property(_get_dpi, _set_dpi)
 
+    def get_tight_layout(self):
+        """
+        Return the Boolean flag, True to use :meth`tight_layout` when drawing.
+        """
+        return self._tight
+
+    def set_tight_layout(self, tight):
+        """
+        Set whether :meth:`tight_layout` is used upon drawing.
+        If None, the rcParams['figure.autolayout'] value will be set.
+
+        ACCEPTS: [True | False | None]
+        """
+        if tight is None:
+            tight = rcParams['figure.autolayout']
+        tight = bool(tight)
+        self._tight = tight
+
     def autofmt_xdate(self, bottom=0.2, rotation=30, ha='right'):
         """
         Date ticklabels often overlap, so it is useful to rotate them
@@ -863,6 +888,13 @@ def draw(self, renderer):
         if not self.get_visible(): return
         renderer.open_group('figure')
 
+        if self.get_tight_layout() and self.axes:
+            try:
+                self.tight_layout(renderer)
+            except ValueError:
+                pass
+                # ValueError can occur when resizing a window.
+
         if self.frameon: self.patch.draw(renderer)
 
         # a list of (zorder, func_to_call, list_of_args)
@@ -1238,7 +1270,7 @@ def colorbar(self, mappable, cax=None, ax=None, **kw):
         """
         if ax is None:
             ax = self.gca()
-        use_gridspec = kw.pop("use_gridspec", False)
+        use_gridspec = kw.pop("use_gridspec", True)
         if cax is None:
             if use_gridspec and isinstance(ax, SubplotBase):
                 cax, kw = cbar.make_axes_gridspec(ax, **kw)
@@ -1381,6 +1413,12 @@ def tight_layout(self, renderer=None, pad=1.08, h_pad=None, w_pad=None, rect=Non
 
         from tight_layout import get_renderer, get_tight_layout_figure
 
+        no_go = [ax for ax in self.axes if not isinstance(ax, SubplotBase)]
+        if no_go:
+            warnings.Warn("Cannot use tight_layout;"
+                          " all Axes must descend from SubplotBase")
+            return
+
         if renderer is None:
             renderer = get_renderer(self)
 
diff --git a/lib/matplotlib/rcsetup.py b/lib/matplotlib/rcsetup.py
index ec9c3e7136ca..9f908e22ceda 100644
--- a/lib/matplotlib/rcsetup.py
+++ b/lib/matplotlib/rcsetup.py
@@ -544,7 +544,7 @@ def __call__(self, s):
     'figure.dpi'        : [ 80, validate_float],   # DPI
     'figure.facecolor'  : [ '0.75', validate_color], # facecolor; scalar gray
     'figure.edgecolor'  : [ 'w', validate_color],  # edgecolor; white
-    'figure.autolayout' : [ False, validate_autolayout],
+    'figure.autolayout' : [ False, validate_bool],
 
     'figure.subplot.left'   : [0.125, ValidateInterval(0, 1, closedmin=True, closedmax=True)],
     'figure.subplot.right'  : [0.9, ValidateInterval(0, 1, closedmin=True, closedmax=True)],
diff --git a/matplotlibrc.template b/matplotlibrc.template
index b35b77272721..86238c090173 100644
--- a/matplotlibrc.template
+++ b/matplotlibrc.template
@@ -301,6 +301,8 @@ text.hinting_factor : 8 # Specifies the amount of softness for hinting in the
 #figure.dpi       : 80      # figure dots per inch
 #figure.facecolor : 0.75    # figure facecolor; 0.75 is scalar gray
 #figure.edgecolor : white   # figure edgecolor
+#figure.autolayout : False  # When True, automatically adjust subplot
+                            # parameters to make the plot fit the figure
 
 # The figure subplot parameters.  All dimensions are a fraction of the
 # figure width or height