diff --git a/CMakeLists.txt b/CMakeLists.txt
index 7f43455..393af70 100644
--- a/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -96,6 +96,7 @@ option (USE_GIF "Use GIF if found" ON)
 option (USE_PTEX "Use PTex if found" ON)
 option (USE_WEBP "Use WebP if found" ON)
 option (USE_LIBRAW "Use LibRaw if found" ON)
+option (USE_WEBP "Use WebP if found" ON)
 set (LIBRAW_PATH "" CACHE STRING "Custom LibRaw path")
 option (OIIO_THREAD_ALLOW_DCLP "OIIO threads may use DCLP for speed" ON)
 option (USE_NUKE "Build Nuke plugins, if Nuke is found" ON)
diff --git a/src/cmake/externalpackages.cmake b/src/cmake/externalpackages.cmake
index f2709d0..3a95da6 100644
--- a/src/cmake/externalpackages.cmake
+++ b/src/cmake/externalpackages.cmake
@@ -411,6 +411,7 @@ if (USE_WEBP)
     if (NOT WEBP_FIND_QUIETLY)
         message (STATUS "WEBP_HOME=${WEBP_HOME}")
     endif ()
+    if(USE_WEBP)
     find_path (WEBP_INCLUDE_DIR webp/encode.h
                "${PROJECT_SOURCE_DIR}/src/include"
                "${WEBP_HOME}")
@@ -427,6 +428,9 @@ if (USE_WEBP)
         set (WEBP_FOUND FALSE)
         message (STATUS "WebP library not found")
     endif()
+    else()
+        set (WEBP_FOUND FALSE)
+    endif()
 else ()
     message (STATUS "Not using WebP")
 endif ()