How to send a matplotlib.pyplot plot to a new window in the Spyder IDE

I am using Spyder 3.2 on Win 7 installed using WinPython. I wanted to redirect matplotlib plot output to a new window rather than the console.

This question was asked and answered here: How to plot in a new window in Spyder-IDE(Python)

I followed the answer there which says to replace the Inline option with Automatic via

Tools > Preferences > IPython console > Graphics > Graphics Backend

Restarting and trying to run a plot, I get the following error message:

File "c:\python\winpython-64bit-3.5.2.2qt5\python-3.5.2.amd64\lib\site-packages\matplotlib\backends\backend_qt5.py",
line 465, in __init__ self.toolbar.message.connect(self._show_message)
TypeError: connect() failed between NavigationToolbar2QT.message[str] and _show_message()

Setting the graphics option back to Inline makes the error go away.

FYI, this is the block of the backend_qt5.py code that is throwing the error:

        self.toolbar = self._get_toolbar(self.canvas, self.window)
        if self.toolbar is not None:
            self.window.addToolBar(self.toolbar)
            self.toolbar.message.connect(self._show_message)
            tbs_height = self.toolbar.sizeHint().height()
        else:
            tbs_height = 0

Any suggestions on how to proceed would be greatly appreciated.