The new exhibit, "An American Legacy: The Brian McCarl Collection," opens with a public reception in the McCarl Coverlet Gallery at Saint Vincent College.  The reception is open to the public and light refreshments will be served. The exhibit will be on display in the McCarl Gallery from April 17th through August 16th, featuring 28 selected highlights from Brian McCarl's collection of 115 historic handwoven coverlets. A printed catalog of the entire collection will be released in conjunction with the opening reception.

Love of American history led Foster McCarl of Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania to purchase his first historic coverlet in 1959. In the following years and decades, Foster and his wife Muriel cultivated one of the finest collections of handwoven coverlets in the country. In 2008, his collection of nearly 400 coverlets found a permanent home in the Foster and Muriel McCarl Coverlet Gallery at Saint Vincent College. It was his wish that his coverlets be displayed in public to inspire a deeper appreciation of American history in students of all ages.

Brian McCarl, the second of Foster and Muriel's four sons, inherited his parents' love of history and antiques and eventually assembled a coverlet collection of his own. Brian has always viewed his coverlets as an extension and continuation of the collection that his father started many years ago. In 2023, 115 of Brian’s coverlets were donated to the McCarl Coverlet Gallery through a gift of the McCarl Foundation. He is proud to see them united with his father's collection in an educational institution where they will continue to spark the wonder and curiosity of generations to come.