John Ed Anthony Receives AMFA Foundation’s Winthrop Rockefeller Award

John Ed Anthony (AMFA)

John Ed Anthony has received the Arkansas Museum of Fine Arts Foundation’s Winthrop Rockefeller Award, which the foundation gives to those who support the arts and the museum.

Anthony, chairman of Anthony Timberlands Inc. of Bearden, has been a member of the AMFA Foundation board of directors since 2016. The foundation presents the Rockefeller award each year at its annual meeting.

Anthony received the award for his support for art initiatives, including the Young Arkansas Artists program, the Delta Exhibition and museum’s capital campaign. The museum, located in Little Rock, just reopened after a multimillion-dollar renovation and expansion.

“This commitment mirrors the service exemplified by the late Governor Winthrop Rockefeller, whose work was instrumental to the early growth of the museum,” Warren Stephens, chair of the AMFA Foundation, said in a news release. “John Ed Anthony is a steadfast supporter of AMFA who has made an impact in every aspect of the foundation’s mission.”

Anthony is its 47th recipient of the award. Previous recipients include Curtis Finch, Robyn Horn, the city of Little Rock, Mike Mayton and the Windgate Foundation.

Anthony was president of Anthony Timberlands for 33 years and is a 2012 inductee into the Arkansas Business Hall of Fame. Anthony Timberlands, a private, family-owned wood products and timberland management company founded in 1907, reported $302 million in 2022 revenue and 734 employees.

He is a past president of the Arkansas Forest Association and was a member of the executive committee of the Southern Forest Products Association.

Last year, Anthony and his wife, Isabel, donated $2.5 million to the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville to honor Peter MacKeith, the dean of the university’s Fay Jones School of Architecture and Design.