diff --git a/src/org/openstreetmap/josm/tools/ImageProvider.java b/src/org/openstreetmap/josm/tools/ImageProvider.java
index 60bee7d..4dc6bfa 100644
--- a/src/org/openstreetmap/josm/tools/ImageProvider.java
+++ b/src/org/openstreetmap/josm/tools/ImageProvider.java
@@ -574,7 +574,7 @@ public class ImageProvider {
         } else {
             try {
                 File f = new File(path, name);
-                if (f.exists())
+                if ((path != null || f.isAbsolute()) && f.exists())
                     return f.toURI().toURL();
             } catch (MalformedURLException e) {
             }