Harris was awarded the prize this evening (1st December) in an event at the Victoria & Albert Museum in London.
Guardian literary editor, Claire Armitstead, who chaired the judging panel, said: "At a time when universities are threatened as never before, Alexandra Harris' ground-breaking book is a reminder of how important higher education is to literature, and to culture as a whole."
She added: "Serious works of art history rarely win populist prizes, and often have trouble finding publishers at all. Yet the response from our Waterstone's reading groups, as well as from our central panel, showed that readers of all sorts are willing to engage with demanding books, if they are well written and beautifully produced.
"I know we will be hearing a lot more from Alexandra in the future."
Harris wins £10,000 and an advertising package in the Guardian and the Observer.
The other authors on the shortlist were: Ned Beauman's Boxer, Beetle (Sceptre), Your Presence is Requested at Suvanto, by Maile Chapman (Jonathan Cape); Black Mamba Boy, by Nadifa Mohamed (HarperCollins); and Being Wrong: Adventures in the Margin of Error, by Kathryn Schulz (Portobello Books).
The titles were judged by a celebrity panel, along with five Waterstone's reading groups around the UK.
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