The first thing that catches the eye in this striking portrait is not necessarily the small balloon. It is, rather, the sitter who draws our attention with her extraordinary hat and steady gaze. Letitia Ann Sage became a celebrity in 1785 as “the first English female aerial traveller”. She was invited by Vincenzo Lunardi to join his balloon ascent on 29 June from St George’s Fields in London. With an eye to publicity, Lunardi had asked Sage for the honour of taking her into the “blue Paradisian skies” in homage to her beauty. While Sage was not the first woman in England to travel by balloon she was nevertheless a pioneer in that form of flight. The first balloon flight (crewed and free-flying) had taken off from Paris only two years earlier, with a balloon designed by the Montgolfier brothers. “Balloonomania” struck the public imagination and flights appeared in paintings and on objects from prints and medals to fans and snuffboxes. Yet, taking to the skies remained dangerous, and Sage was aware that only two weeks earlier Pilâtre de Rozier had died when his balloon caught fire and crashed. Sage later published an account of the adventure, A Letter, Addressed to a Female Friend. By Mrs Sage, the First English Female Aerial Traveller. Her journey was completed with Lunardi’s assistant George Biggin, after Lunardi had gallantly, but perhaps foolishly, given up his place when the planned group proved too heavy for the balloon. The pair made a variety of meteorological observations, including temperature, humidity and the electrical properties of clouds, as well as enjoying ham, chicken and a glass of wine. Sage expressed herself “infinitely better pleased with my excursion, than I ever was at any former event of my life” and the occasion was commemorated in a range of images. This portrait came to the Science Museum in the bequest of Winifred Penn-Gaskell, an avid and expert collector of early aeronautica, whose initial offer to the V&A was declined and so passed across Exhibition Road. It is now on permanent display in Science City 1550-1800: The Linbury Gallery situating Letitia Sage alongside other 18th-century pioneers. Who painted this portrait? Join the Art Detective discussion. You can see more art from the Science Museum on Art UK here and find out more on the museum’s website. This series is brought to you in collaboration with Art UK, which brings the nation’s art together on one digital platform and tells the stories behind the art. The website shows works by 50,000 artists from more than 3,000 venues including museums, universities and hospitals as well as thousands of public sculptures. Discover the art you own here.