diff --git a/.travis.yml b/.travis.yml
index a8e162dea..1704efd98 100644
--- a/.travis.yml
+++ b/.travis.yml
@@ -3,16 +3,23 @@ python:
   - '2.7_with_system_site_packages'
   - 2.6
 before_install:
-  # For Python 2.7, install PyQt4
+  - sudo apt-get update
+  # For Python 2.7, install PyQt4 and cairo
   - if [[ $TRAVIS_PYTHON_VERSION == '2.7_with_system_site_packages' ]]; then source .travis_before_install; fi
-  # PyQt can't be installed on 2.6; run the tests without Qt
+  # PyQt and cairo can't be installed on 2.6; run the tests without Qt
   - if [[ $TRAVIS_PYTHON_VERSION == '2.6' ]]; then source .travis_before_install_noqt; fi
   - sudo apt-get install swig
+  # Simlinks for PIL compilation
+  - sudo ln -s /usr/lib/`uname -i`-linux-gnu/libfreetype.so /usr/lib/
+  - sudo ln -s /usr/lib/`uname -i`-linux-gnu/libjpeg.so /usr/lib/
+  - sudo ln -s /usr/lib/`uname -i`-linux-gnu/libpng.so /usr/lib/
+  - sudo ln -s /usr/lib/`uname -i`-linux-gnu/libz.so /usr/lib/
 install:
   # nose is already installed
   - pip install cython
   - pip install --upgrade numpy
   - pip install -r dev_requirements.txt
+  - if [[ $TRAVIS_PYTHON_VERSION == '2.6' ]]; then pip install -r requirements-2.6.txt; fi
   - pip install coveralls
   - python setup.py develop
 script:
diff --git a/.travis_before_install b/.travis_before_install
index 74980b61c..77ce13d54 100644
--- a/.travis_before_install
+++ b/.travis_before_install
@@ -9,4 +9,12 @@ python -c 'import PyQt4'
 python -c 'import PyQt4.QtCore'
 python -c 'import PyQt4.QtGui'
 
+wget -nv http://cairographics.org/releases/py2cairo-1.10.0.tar.bz2
+tar -xf py2cairo-1.10.0.tar.bz2
+pushd py2cairo-1.10.0
+./waf configure
+./waf build
+sudo ./waf install
+popd
+
 export ETS_TOOLKIT=qt4
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/CHANGES.txt b/CHANGES.txt
index a75c9b4d8..c3071f728 100644
--- a/CHANGES.txt
+++ b/CHANGES.txt
@@ -8,7 +8,7 @@ Enhancements
 ------------
 
  * Added a base class for drag and drop tools, example and test support.
-
+ * PR #160: Basic testing for kiva backends.
 
 
 Enable 4.4.0 (May 1, 2014)
diff --git a/dev_requirements.txt b/dev_requirements.txt
index 8cdd9ebbe..e3475f6ea 100644
--- a/dev_requirements.txt
+++ b/dev_requirements.txt
@@ -3,6 +3,10 @@
 coverage
 PIL
 pyparsing
+PyPDF2
+pyglet
+pygarrayimage
+reportlab
 -e git+http://github.com/enthought/traits.git#egg=traits
 -e git+http://github.com/enthought/traitsui.git#egg=traitsui
 -e git+http://github.com/nucleic/kiwi.git#egg=kiwisolver
diff --git a/kiva/graphics_state.py b/kiva/graphics_state.py
index a5d3ec0f3..0e7eded14 100644
--- a/kiva/graphics_state.py
+++ b/kiva/graphics_state.py
@@ -98,8 +98,12 @@ def __init__(self):
         line_cap = CAP_ROUND
         line_join = JOIN_MITER
         line_dash = (0, array([0]))  # This will draw a solid line
-        self.line_state = LineState(line_color, line_width, line_cap,
-                                    line_join, line_dash)
+
+        # FIXME: This is a very wierd class. The following code is here to
+        # make the basecore2d and the PS, SVG context managers happy
+        super(GraphicsState, self).__init__(
+            line_color, line_width, line_cap, line_join, line_dash)
+        self.line_state = self
 
         # All other default values.
         self.ctm = affine.affine_identity()
diff --git a/kiva/pdf.py b/kiva/pdf.py
index 1645898bd..967a73d71 100644
--- a/kiva/pdf.py
+++ b/kiva/pdf.py
@@ -723,6 +723,11 @@ def get_text_extent(self, textstring):
     # Painting paths (drawing and filling contours)
     # ----------------------------------------------------------------
 
+    def clear(self):
+        """
+        """
+        warnings.warn("clear() is ignored for the pdf backend")
+
     def stroke_path(self):
         """
         """
diff --git a/kiva/qpainter.py b/kiva/qpainter.py
index f9ff964de..8ec812d97 100644
--- a/kiva/qpainter.py
+++ b/kiva/qpainter.py
@@ -736,7 +736,7 @@ def fill_path(self):
     def eof_fill_path(self):
         """
         """
-        self.path.setFillRule(QtCore.Qt.OddEvenFill)
+        self.path.path.setFillRule(QtCore.Qt.OddEvenFill)
         self.gc.fillPath(self.path.path, self.gc.brush())
         self.begin_path()
 
diff --git a/kiva/tests/__init__.py b/kiva/tests/__init__.py
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..e69de29bb
diff --git a/kiva/tests/drawing_tester.py b/kiva/tests/drawing_tester.py
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..b31a90e0f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/kiva/tests/drawing_tester.py
@@ -0,0 +1,179 @@
+import contextlib
+import os
+import shutil
+import tempfile
+
+import numpy
+from PIL import Image
+
+from kiva.fonttools import Font
+from kiva.constants import MODERN
+
+
+class DrawingTester(object):
+    """ Basic drawing tests for graphics contexts.
+
+    """
+
+    def setUp(self):
+        self.directory = tempfile.mkdtemp()
+        self.filename = os.path.join(self.directory, 'rendered')
+        self.gc = self.create_graphics_context(300, 300)
+        self.gc.clear()
+        self.gc.set_stroke_color((1.0, 0.0, 0.0))
+        self.gc.set_fill_color((1.0, 0.0, 0.0))
+        self.gc.set_line_width(5)
+
+    def tearDown(self):
+        del self.gc
+        shutil.rmtree(self.directory)
+
+    def test_line(self):
+        with self.draw_and_check():
+            self.gc.begin_path()
+            self.gc.move_to(107, 204)
+            self.gc.line_to(107, 104)
+            self.gc.stroke_path()
+
+    def test_rectangle(self):
+        with self.draw_and_check():
+            self.gc.begin_path()
+            self.gc.move_to(107, 104)
+            self.gc.line_to(107, 184)
+            self.gc.line_to(187, 184)
+            self.gc.line_to(187, 104)
+            self.gc.line_to(107, 104)
+            self.gc.stroke_path()
+
+    def test_rect(self):
+        with self.draw_and_check():
+            self.gc.begin_path()
+            self.gc.rect(0, 0, 200, 200)
+            self.gc.stroke_path()
+
+    def test_circle(self):
+        with self.draw_and_check():
+            self.gc.begin_path()
+            self.gc.arc(150, 150, 100, 0.0, 2 * numpy.pi)
+            self.gc.stroke_path()
+
+    def test_quarter_circle(self):
+        with self.draw_and_check():
+            self.gc.begin_path()
+            self.gc.arc(150, 150, 100, 0.0, numpy.pi / 2)
+            self.gc.stroke_path()
+
+    def test_text(self):
+        with self.draw_and_check():
+            font = Font(family=MODERN)
+            font.size = 24
+            self.gc.set_font(font)
+            self.gc.set_text_position(23, 67)
+            self.gc.show_text("hello kiva")
+
+    def test_circle_fill(self):
+        with self.draw_and_check():
+            self.gc.begin_path()
+            self.gc.arc(150, 150, 100, 0.0, 2 * numpy.pi)
+            self.gc.fill_path()
+
+    def test_star_fill(self):
+        with self.draw_and_check():
+            self.gc.begin_path()
+            self.gc.move_to(100, 100)
+            self.gc.line_to(150, 200)
+            self.gc.line_to(200, 100)
+            self.gc.line_to(100, 150)
+            self.gc.line_to(200, 150)
+            self.gc.line_to(100, 100)
+            self.gc.fill_path()
+
+    def test_star_eof_fill(self):
+        with self.draw_and_check():
+            self.gc.begin_path()
+            self.gc.move_to(100, 100)
+            self.gc.line_to(150, 200)
+            self.gc.line_to(200, 100)
+            self.gc.line_to(100, 150)
+            self.gc.line_to(200, 150)
+            self.gc.line_to(100, 100)
+            self.gc.eof_fill_path()
+
+    def test_circle_clip(self):
+        with self.draw_and_check():
+            self.gc.clip_to_rect(150, 150, 100, 100)
+            self.gc.begin_path()
+            self.gc.arc(150, 150, 100, 0.0, 2 * numpy.pi)
+            self.gc.fill_path()
+
+    def test_text_clip(self):
+        with self.draw_and_check():
+            self.gc.clip_to_rect(23, 77, 100, 23)
+            font = Font(family=MODERN)
+            font.size = 24
+            self.gc.set_font(font)
+            self.gc.set_text_position(23, 67)
+            self.gc.show_text("hello kiva")
+
+    def test_star_clip(self):
+        with self.draw_and_check():
+            self.gc.begin_path()
+            self.gc.move_to(100, 100)
+            self.gc.line_to(150, 200)
+            self.gc.line_to(200, 100)
+            self.gc.line_to(100, 150)
+            self.gc.line_to(200, 150)
+            self.gc.line_to(100, 100)
+            self.gc.close_path()
+            self.gc.clip()
+
+            self.gc.begin_path()
+            self.gc.arc(150, 150, 100, 0.0, 2 * numpy.pi)
+            self.gc.fill_path()
+
+    #### Required methods ####################################################
+
+    @contextlib.contextmanager
+    def draw_and_check(self):
+        """ A context manager to check the result.
+
+        """
+        raise NotImplementedError()
+
+    def create_graphics_context(self, width, length):
+        """ Create the desired graphics context
+
+        """
+        raise NotImplementedError()
+
+
+class DrawingImageTester(DrawingTester):
+    """ Basic drawing tests for graphics contexts of gui toolkits.
+
+    """
+
+    @contextlib.contextmanager
+    def draw_and_check(self):
+        yield
+        filename = "{0}.png".format(self.filename)
+        self.gc.save(filename)
+        self.assertImageSavedWithContent(filename)
+
+    def assertImageSavedWithContent(self, filename):
+        """ Load the image and check that there is some content in it.
+
+        """
+        image = numpy.array(Image.open(filename))
+        # default is expected to be a totally white image
+
+        self.assertEqual(image.shape[:2], (300, 300))
+        if image.shape[2] == 3:
+            check = numpy.sum(image == [255, 0, 0], axis=2) == 3
+        elif image.shape[2] == 4:
+            check = numpy.sum(image == [255, 0, 0, 255], axis=2) == 4
+        else:
+            self.fail(
+                'Pixel size is not 3 or 4, but {0}'.format(image.shape[2]))
+        if check.any():
+            return
+        self.fail('The image looks empty, no red pixels where drawn')
diff --git a/kiva/tests/test_agg_drawing.py b/kiva/tests/test_agg_drawing.py
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..154f523f9
--- /dev/null
+++ b/kiva/tests/test_agg_drawing.py
@@ -0,0 +1,13 @@
+from kiva.tests.drawing_tester import DrawingImageTester
+from kiva.image import GraphicsContext
+from traits.testing.unittest_tools import unittest
+
+
+class TestAggDrawing(DrawingImageTester, unittest.TestCase):
+
+    def create_graphics_context(self, width, height):
+        return GraphicsContext((width, height))
+
+
+if __name__ == "__main__":
+    unittest.main()
diff --git a/kiva/tests/test_cairo_drawing.py b/kiva/tests/test_cairo_drawing.py
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..fd82845b5
--- /dev/null
+++ b/kiva/tests/test_cairo_drawing.py
@@ -0,0 +1,21 @@
+from kiva.tests.drawing_tester import DrawingImageTester
+from traits.testing.unittest_tools import unittest
+
+try:
+    import cairo  # noqa
+except ImportError:
+    CAIRO_NOT_AVAILABLE = True
+else:
+    CAIRO_NOT_AVAILABLE = False
+
+
+@unittest.skipIf(CAIRO_NOT_AVAILABLE, "Cannot import cairo")
+class TestCairoDrawing(DrawingImageTester, unittest.TestCase):
+
+    def create_graphics_context(self, width, height):
+        from kiva.cairo import GraphicsContext
+        return GraphicsContext((width, height))
+
+
+if __name__ == "__main__":
+    unittest.main()
diff --git a/kiva/tests/test_gl_drawing.py b/kiva/tests/test_gl_drawing.py
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..783e112ac
--- /dev/null
+++ b/kiva/tests/test_gl_drawing.py
@@ -0,0 +1,57 @@
+import contextlib
+
+try:
+    import pyglet
+except ImportError:
+    PYGLET_NOT_AVAILABLE = True
+else:
+    PYGLET_NOT_AVAILABLE = False
+
+
+from kiva.tests.drawing_tester import DrawingImageTester
+from traits.testing.unittest_tools import unittest
+
+
+@unittest.skipIf(PYGLET_NOT_AVAILABLE, "Cannot import pyglet")
+class TestGLDrawing(DrawingImageTester, unittest.TestCase):
+
+    def tearDown(self):
+        if hasattr(self, 'window') and self.window is not None:
+            self.window.close()
+            del self.window
+        DrawingImageTester.tearDown(self)
+
+    def create_graphics_context(self, width, height):
+        from kiva.gl import GraphicsContext
+        self.window = pyglet.window.Window(width=width, height=height)
+        gc = GraphicsContext((width, height))
+        gc.gl_init()
+        return gc
+
+    @unittest.skip("gl graphics context does not support star_clip (#164)")
+    def test_star_clip(self):
+        # FIXME: overriding test since it segfaults
+        DrawingImageTester.test_star_clip(self)
+
+    @unittest.expectedFailure
+    def test_text_clip(self):
+        # gl graphics context does not clip text properly (#165).
+        DrawingImageTester.test_text_clip(self)
+
+    @contextlib.contextmanager
+    def draw_and_check(self):
+        from pyglet.image.codecs.png import PNGImageEncoder
+
+        self.window.clear()
+        self.window.switch_to()
+        self.window.dispatch_events()
+        yield
+        self.window.dispatch_events()
+        filename = "{0}.png".format(self.filename)
+        buffer = pyglet.image.get_buffer_manager()
+        buffer.get_color_buffer().save(filename, encoder=PNGImageEncoder())
+        self.assertImageSavedWithContent(filename)
+
+
+if __name__ == "__main__":
+    unittest.main()
diff --git a/kiva/tests/test_pdf_drawing.py b/kiva/tests/test_pdf_drawing.py
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..8a94c5664
--- /dev/null
+++ b/kiva/tests/test_pdf_drawing.py
@@ -0,0 +1,57 @@
+import contextlib
+
+from kiva.tests.drawing_tester import DrawingTester
+from traits.testing.unittest_tools import unittest
+
+try:
+    import PyPDF2  # Tests require the PyPDF2 library.
+except ImportError:
+    PYPDF2_NOT_AVAILABLE = True
+else:
+    PYPDF2_NOT_AVAILABLE = False
+
+try:
+    import reportlab  # noqa
+except ImportError:
+    REPORTLAB_NOT_AVAILABLE = True
+else:
+    REPORTLAB_NOT_AVAILABLE = False
+
+
+@unittest.skipIf(PYPDF2_NOT_AVAILABLE, "PDF tests require PyPDF2")
+@unittest.skipIf(REPORTLAB_NOT_AVAILABLE, "Cannot import reportlab")
+class TestPDFDrawing(DrawingTester, unittest.TestCase):
+
+    def create_graphics_context(self, width, height):
+        from reportlab.pdfgen.canvas import Canvas
+        from kiva.pdf import GraphicsContext
+        filename = "{0}.pdf".format(self.filename)
+        canvas = Canvas(filename, (width, height))
+        return GraphicsContext(canvas)
+
+    @contextlib.contextmanager
+    def draw_and_check(self):
+        yield
+        # Save the pdf file.
+        filename = "{0}.pdf".format(self.filename)
+        self.gc.save()
+        reader = PyPDF2.PdfFileReader(filename)
+        self.assertEqual(reader.getNumPages(), 1)
+
+        # Find the graphics in the page
+        page = reader.getPage(0)
+        content = page.getContents()
+
+        # Just a simple check that the path has been closed or the text has
+        # been drawn.
+        line = content.getData().splitlines()[-2]
+        if not any((
+                line.endswith('f'),
+                line.endswith('S'),
+                line.endswith('f*'),
+                line.endswith('ET') and 'hello kiva' in line)):
+            self.fail('Path was not closed')
+
+
+if __name__ == "__main__":
+    unittest.main()
diff --git a/kiva/tests/test_ps_drawing.py b/kiva/tests/test_ps_drawing.py
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..8445c067c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/kiva/tests/test_ps_drawing.py
@@ -0,0 +1,33 @@
+import contextlib
+
+from kiva.tests.drawing_tester import DrawingTester
+from kiva.ps import PSGC
+from traits.testing.unittest_tools import unittest
+
+
+class TestPSDrawing(DrawingTester, unittest.TestCase):
+
+    def create_graphics_context(self, width, height):
+        return PSGC((width, height))
+
+    @contextlib.contextmanager
+    def draw_and_check(self):
+        yield
+        filename = "{0}.eps".format(self.filename)
+        self.gc.save(filename)
+        with open(filename, 'r') as handle:
+            lines = handle.readlines()
+
+        # Just a simple check that the path has been closed or the text has
+        # been drawn.
+        line = lines[-1].strip()
+        if not any((
+                line.endswith('fill'),
+                line.endswith('stroke'),
+                line.endswith('cliprestore'),
+                '(hello kiva) show\n' in lines)):
+            self.fail('Path was not closed')
+
+
+if __name__ == "__main__":
+    unittest.main()
diff --git a/kiva/tests/test_qpainter_drawing.py b/kiva/tests/test_qpainter_drawing.py
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..19149ff11
--- /dev/null
+++ b/kiva/tests/test_qpainter_drawing.py
@@ -0,0 +1,30 @@
+try:
+    from pyface.qt import QtGui
+except ImportError:
+    QT_NOT_AVAILABLE = True
+else:
+    QT_NOT_AVAILABLE = False
+
+from kiva.tests.drawing_tester import DrawingImageTester
+from traits.testing.unittest_tools import unittest
+
+
+@unittest.skipIf(QT_NOT_AVAILABLE, "Cannot import qt")
+class TestQPainterDrawing(DrawingImageTester, unittest.TestCase):
+
+    def setUp(self):
+        application = QtGui.QApplication.instance()
+        if application is None:
+            self.application = QtGui.QApplication([])
+        else:
+            self.application = application
+
+        DrawingImageTester.setUp(self)
+
+    def create_graphics_context(self, width, height):
+        from kiva.qpainter import GraphicsContext
+        return GraphicsContext((width, height))
+
+
+if __name__ == "__main__":
+    unittest.main()
diff --git a/kiva/tests/test_svg_drawing.py b/kiva/tests/test_svg_drawing.py
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..5eba7bc04
--- /dev/null
+++ b/kiva/tests/test_svg_drawing.py
@@ -0,0 +1,26 @@
+import contextlib
+from xml.etree import ElementTree
+
+from kiva.tests.drawing_tester import DrawingTester
+from kiva.svg import GraphicsContext
+from traits.testing.unittest_tools import unittest
+
+
+class TestSVGDrawing(DrawingTester, unittest.TestCase):
+
+    def create_graphics_context(self, width, height):
+        return GraphicsContext((width, height))
+
+    @contextlib.contextmanager
+    def draw_and_check(self):
+        yield
+        filename = "{0}.svg".format(self.filename)
+        self.gc.save(filename)
+        tree = ElementTree.parse(filename)
+        elements = [element for element in tree.getiterator()]
+        if not len(elements) in [4, 7]:
+            self.fail('The expected number of elements was not found')
+
+
+if __name__ == "__main__":
+    unittest.main()
diff --git a/requirements-2.6.txt b/requirements-2.6.txt
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..9a23970d3
--- /dev/null
+++ b/requirements-2.6.txt
@@ -0,0 +1 @@
+unittest2