diff --git a/lib/OpenLayers/Tile/Image.js b/lib/OpenLayers/Tile/Image.js
index 23a7c9668a..28dab38773 100644
--- a/lib/OpenLayers/Tile/Image.js
+++ b/lib/OpenLayers/Tile/Image.js
@@ -297,6 +297,7 @@ OpenLayers.Tile.Image = OpenLayers.Class(OpenLayers.Tile, {
             } else {
                 OpenLayers.Event.observe(img, "load", load);
                 OpenLayers.Event.observe(img, "error", load);
+                img.crossOrigin = null;
                 img.src = this.blankImageUrl;
             }
         }
@@ -314,6 +315,8 @@ OpenLayers.Tile.Image = OpenLayers.Class(OpenLayers.Tile, {
         img.style.visibility = 'hidden';
         img.style.opacity = 0;
         if (url) {
+            // don't set crossOrigin if the url is a data URL
+            img.crossOrigin = url.indexOf('data:') === 0 ? null : '';
             img.src = url;
         }
     },