The Laura Foreman Papers contain materials pertaining to Foreman's life as a dancer, choreographer, visual and performance artist, as well as her personal life and career as Director of the Dance Department at the New School. Material related to Foreman's works includes project notes, sketches and drafts, photographic and audiovisual documentation, grant applications, props, art objects, and press clippings. Material related to Foreman's personal life includes correspondence, personal notes, journals, and appointment books. The collection also contains course planning materials and administrative files related to Foreman's career at the New School. Items in the collection date as far back as 1949, but the bulk of the collection covers a range from 1967 until Foreman's death in 2001.
The collection is divided into eight series:
SERIES I: Files contains documents and items related to Foreman's personal life and artistic career, including project drafts, personal notes, source material and press clippings.
SERIES II: Notebooks, Address Books and Date Books contains bound notebooks relating to Foreman's personal and artistic life, as well as originally collocated notecards.
SERIES III: Correspondence contains correspondence, primarily addressed to Foreman and dealing mostly with her personal life. A small portion of the correspondence pertains to her professional and artistic life.
SERIES IV: Photographic Material contains photographic prints, color slides, contact sheets and negatives pertaining both to Foreman's personal life and to her work as a choreographer and visual artist.
SERIES V: Artworks, Sketches and Posters contains primarily visual material produced by Foreman, including sketches, drafts, and posters from her own as well as others' performances and exhibitions.
SERIES VI: Video recordings contains Foreman's collection of video documentation of her dance performances and other artworks and exhibitions.
SERIES VII: Films contains a small amount of moving image documentation captured on film instead of video.
SERIES VIII: Sound recordings contains audio recordings.
SERIES IX: Objects contains various items once owned by Foreman or employed in her artworks, including props from dance performances.
OVERSIZE SERIES includes materials too large to be stored in a records carton or photo binder.
Series I: Files
Series IV: Photographic Material
Series V: Artworks, Sketches and Posters