Looking at images by Rae Russel, you sense a photographer who delighted in the act of picture-taking. The American photojournalist often captured others with camera in hand, connecting her moment with theirs. ⁠⠀ A member of the New York collective, Photo League, the group formed a socially aware ethos, in which the camera was not only a tool to communicate human experience, but one to enrich that experience through participation, articulation and empowerment. Founded in 1936 by Berenice Abbott and Paul Strand, a third of its members were women, while Brooklyn-born Russel was one of the many members who taught photography, as well as practised. ⁠⠀ While the Photo League didn’t demand a particular aesthetic beyond its motivation and commitment to the documentary genre, Russell’s sensitive portraits have a commonality with the images of League peers Harold Feinstein and Sid Grossman. Brilliantly-tuned in light and shadow, she shares her lens with the subject and never feels far away. Usi...