Vasudeo Santu Gaitonde was born in 1924 in Nagpur, Maharashtra.

In 1948 Gaitonde received his Diploma in Art from Sir J. J. School of Art, Mumbai. In 1950 the Bombay Progressive Artists’ Group invited him to join them.

Gaitonde had several solo exhibitions:
In 1959 he had one man show at Graham Gallery, New York and at Kumar Gallery, New Delhi. In 1960 he showcased solo at Kumar Gallery, New Delhi and Gallery 59, Mumbai. In 1961 he had a solo exhibition at Jehangir Art Gallery, Mumbai. In 1963 he had one man show at Gallery Number One, London. In 1965 he showcased solo at Willard Gallery, New York. In 1966, 1967, 1969 and 1970 he had a solo show at Taj Art Gallery, Mumbai. In 1971 and 1973 he had one man show at Gallery Chanakya, New Delhi. In 1975 he had a one man show, Drawing 1958 – 1962 at Pundole Art Gallery, Mumbai. In 1977 and 1984 he showcased solo at Pundole Art Gallery, Mumbai. In 1985 he exhibited Drawings at Pundole Art Gallery, Mumbai. In 1997 he showcased An Abstract Vision and Heart at Pundole Art Gallery, Mumbai. In 2001 he had a solo at Vadehra Art Gallery, New Delhi. In 2002 he had a solo show at Jehangir Art Gallery, Mumbai. In 2011 he had a solo, V. S. Gaitonde: Works from Private Collections at SaffronArt, New Delhi.

Gaitonde had participated in several group exhibitions:
In 1948 he took part in the Bombay Art Society Diamond Jubilee Exhibition in Mumbai. In 1949 and 1951 he showcased with PAG in Mumbai. From 1951 - 1957 he participated in a group exhibition at Artists’ Aid Centre, Mumbai. In 1953 he participated in a group exhibition of PAG at Jehangir Art Gallery, Mumbai. In 1954 and 1962 he participated in Venice Biennale. In 1955 - 1956 he took part in Indian Art Exhibition at Lalit Kala Akademi, New Delhi. In 1956 he participated in National Exhibition at Lalit Kala Akademi, New Delhi. In 1957 he participated in DAI - ikkai Ajia seinen bijutsu-ka-ten. In 1959 he participated in the group exhibition of Inauguration of Gallery 59; he participated in Contemporary Paintings from India at Graham Gallery, New York. Indische Kunst der Gegenwart (Indian Art of Today) at the Museum Folkwan, Essen; Museu de Arte Moderna de Sao Paulo Biennial; he showcased in a a group show, Trends in Modern Indian Art & Twenty Artists Exhibition in New Delhi. In 1961 he participated in a group exhibition of graphic art at Kunika Art Centre and National Exhibition of Art at Lalit Kala Akademi, New Delhi. In 1962 he took part in Contemporary Art of India at Gallery 63, New York; he participated in the Bombay Art Society annual exhibition at Jehangir Art Gallery, Mumbai and showcased in a group exhibition in London. In 1963 he took part in 8 Contemporary Painter from India: Interaction of East and West at Lever Home, New York. In 1964 he was showcased in Recent Acquisitions: South Asian Paintings at the Museum of Modern Art, New York; he showcased in Ten Contemporary Painters from India at Detroit Institute of Arts; he participated in a group exhibition at Jacksonville Art Museum, Florida, he showcased in a group show at Delgalo Museum of Art, New Orleans; he showcased in a group show at Hunter Gallery, Chattanooga; he showcased in a group show at Colorado Fine Art Center, Colorado; he participated in an exhibition at San Francisco Museum of Art; he participated in an exhibition at MIT Hayden Gallery, Cambridge; he showcased in a group show at East West Center, Honolulu and New Jersey State Museum, Trenton; he participated in Six Artists in Black & White at Trivani Art Gallery, New Delhi. In 1965 he participated in Indian Painting Now exhibited at Commonwealth Institute, London that travelled to Laing Art Gallery, Newcastle; National Museum of Wales, Aberdeen Art Gallery and Huddersfield Art Gallery. In 1968 he took part in First Triennale in India and participated in Lalit Kala Akademi and NGMA, New Delhi. In 1970 he participated in a group exhibition at Ashoka Gallery, Calcutta & Shridharani. In 1973 he showcased at ICCR, New Delhi and Renwick Gallery, Smithsonian Institute in Washington DC. In 1973 he took part in Contemporary Indian Painting: commemorating the Silver Jubilee of India’s Independence. In 1975 he took part in the Paths of Abstraction at Lalit Kala Akademi, New Delhi. In 1976 he participate in the Festival of Perth. In 1978 he joined a Group Exhibition at Pundole Art Gallery, Mumbai. In 1981 he took part in Indian Paintings Today at Jehangir Art Gallery, Mumbai. In 1982 he was exhibited in Modern Indian Painting from the Collection of the National Gallery of Modern Art at NGMA, New Delhi. The same exhibition was showcased at the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden at Washington DC, USA. In 1986 he participated in Bharat Bhavan Biennial of Contemporary Indian Art at Bharat Bhavan - Roopankar Museum of Fine Arts, Bhopal. In 1987 he was exhibited at Coup de Coeur in a group show at Halles de l’ile, Geneva; he participated in a group exhibition at Pundole Art Gallery, Mumbai. He was showcased in Indian Drawing Today at Jehangir Art Gallery, Mumbai. In 1988 he participated in Indo Gendai Bijutsuten (Indian Contemporary Art) at Takaoka Municipal Museum of Art that travelled to Meguro Museum of Art, Tokyo and Machida Municipal Museum of Graphic Arts; he took part in 17 Indian Painters at Jehangir Art Gallery, Mumbai. In 1990 he participated in Artists from Goa: An Exhibition of Paintings at Kala Academy in Goa. In 1991 he took part in Remembering Kali Pundole at Pundole Art Gallery, Mumbai; he took part in National Exposition of Contemporary Art at NGMA, New Delhi; Masters at NGMA, Mumbai and Jehangir Art Gallery, Mumbai. In 1993 he was showcased in Contemporary Art Museum at Yokohama Sogo Museum, Japan. In 1994 he was showcased in Drawing 94 at Gallery Espace, New Delhi. In 1996 he exhibited in Chamatkara: Myth & Magic in India Art at Whiteleys Art Gallery, London and showcased in The Moderns: The Progressive Artists’ Group & Association at NGMA, Mumbai. In 1997 he was showcased in Image Beyond Image: Contemporary Indian Painting from the Collection of Glenbarra Art Museum at Glenbarra Art Museum in Himeji, Japan. It travelled to Birla Academy of Art & Culture, Calcutta; Karnataka Chitrakala Parishad, Bangalore and NGMA, Mumbai. He was showcased in Tryst with Destiny: Art from Modern India 1947 - 1997 at Singapore Art Museum, Singapore and NGMA, Mumbai. In 1998 he participated in Private Mythology: Contemporary Art from India at Japan Foundation Asia Centre, Tokyo and Symbolism & Geometry at NGMA, New Delhi. In 2000 he showcased in Shatabdi: Reflections on a Century Part at CIMA, Kolkata, it travelled to Jehangir Art Gallery, Mumbai and he showcased in Millenium Show: A Century of Art from Maharashtra at Nehru Centre Art Gallery, Mumbai.

He won many awards:
In 1950 he won an award from Bombay Art Society at Jehangir Art Gallery, Mumbai. In 1964 - 1965 he was awarded J. D. Rockefeller III Fellowship, USA. In 1971 Government of India awarded him Padmashree. In 1974 he was awarded Prix Nationale, Festival International de la Peinture, Cagness-Sur-Mer in France.

Gaitonde passed away in 2001.

He was posthumously exhibited in several exhibitions:
In 2001 he was exhibited in Ashta Nayak at Tao Art Gallery, Mumbai and Modern Indian Art: 12 Contemporary Painter at Metropolitan Pavilion, New York (organised by Saffron Art & PAG). In 2003 he was exhibited in crossing generations: Diverge: Forty Years of Gallery Chemould at NGMA, Mumbai. In 2004 he was showcased in a group show: Concept & Format at Vadehra Art Gallery, New Delhi; he was exhibited in The Search Paintings from NGMA at Gallery of Modern Art, Mumbai and Subtlety – Minimally at Sakshi Gallery, Mumbai. In 2005 he participated in Exhibition of Eight Painters at Gallery Arts in India and New York. In 2006 he was showcased in Roop Adhyatma at Bodhi Art, Singapore. He was showcased in Indian Art I/III: The Modern Revisited at Grosvenor Vadehra Gallery, London. In 2007 he was showcased in ‘Pinnacle – Progressive’ at Tamarind Art, New York and India arte oggi: L’arte contemporanea Indiana fra contininuita e transformazione (India Art Now: Indian Contemporary Art Between Continuity & Transformation) at Spazio Oberdan, Milan. In 2008 he was showcased in Freedom 2008: Sixty years after Indian Independence at CIMA, Kolkata; Multiple Modernities at Philadelphia Museum of Art, USA; An Exhibition of Contemporary Indian Art at P.L. Deshpande Maharashtra Kala Academy Art Gallery, Mumbai. It travelled to Amravati, Nagpur, Aurangabad, Sholapur, Kolhapur, Nasik & Pune; The Moderns at NGMA, Mumbai and at Royal Cultural Centre in Amman, Jordan. In 2009 he was showcased in Bharat Ratna; Jewels of Modern Indian Art at Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. In 2010 he was showcased in Masters of Maharashtra Collection from Lalit Kala Akademi at Piramal Gallery, NCPA in Mumbai. In 2011 he was exhibited in Time Unfolded: An Exhibition of Modern & Contemporary Art at Kiran Nadar Museum of Art, New Delhi & Jehangir Nicholson Gallery at CSMVS, Mumbai; Roots in the AIR, Branches Below: Modern & Contemporary Art from India at San Jose Museum of Art and Modern Masters: Master works from India’s Progressive Artists’ Group, Part two at AICON Gallery, New York. In 2012 he was showcased in Through the Ages: South Asian sculpture & Painting from Antiquity to Modernism at AICON Art Gallery, New York; he participated in Modernist Art from India: Approaching Abstraction at Rubin Museum of Art and The Printed Picture at Delhi Art Gallery, New Delhi. In 2013 he was showcased in Nothing is Absolute: A journey through abstraction at Jehangir Nicholson Gallery at CSMVS, Mumbai; Air India Art Collection at NGMA, New Delhi and 20 Transition: Anniversary Exhibition at CIMA, Kolkata. In 2013, Gaitonde was showcased with S. H. Raza, Tyeb Mehta, M. F. Husain, and Ram Kumar in a group show titled as 'The Moderns' at Gallery 7, Mumbai.

In 2005 Gaitonde’s painting fetched 9 million Indian Rupees (US$130,000) in an art auction, Mumbai. In 2013, Gaitonde's painting sold for 237 million Indian Rupees (US$3.5 million), Christie's debut auction in India. In 2014, Gaitonde’s first retrospective of his paintings took place at Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York.