Sara Troost was known for her pastel portraits of high-society members as well as her drawings, copied after the works of seventeenth-century artists and contemporaries. Her talent is particularly evident in her mastery of the medium and technique within the practice of copy art, which gained popularity from the seventeenth-century onwards. Her drawings after the pastel series, known in the literature as the “NELRI-series”, by her father, the famous portraitist and genre painter Cornelis Troost (1696–1750), clearly testify to her artistic skills. This series of five drawings depicts a visual journey through the nightly events of a group of men. Starting with No One Spoke (1769), the group of men sitting around the table embarks upon a conversation which slowly loses control as the evening progresses, ending in a chaotic and lively setting. In the final scene, entitled Those Who Could Walk Did; The Others Fell (1768), the group of men stumbles outside towards the awaiting carriage, some so drunk they need assistance. In these reproductions, S. Troost skilfully captures the humorous undertone of the original drawings.

Born in Amsterdam, her father, C. Troost, was an artist and former actor at the Stadsschouwburg in Amsterdam. Her mother, Susanna Maria van der Duyn (1698–1780), was also linked to the city theatre as an actress. S. Troost received her artistic training from her father. Her pastel portraits are characterised by expressive faces and show great attention to detail, especially in the clothing. In her portrait of Johanna Capelle (1698–1774), who managed a camphor distillery just outside Amsterdam, S. Troost aptly depicts the different fabrics of the dress, such as the lace at the cuffs of the sleeves and the shawl finished with a fur trim.
S. Troost created the atmosphere of her scenes through nuances of colour and the effects of light. We see this in her drawings made after the NELRI series, for example, where the bright candlelight in the third drawing highlights the intensity of the conversation between the gentlemen and forms a sharp contrast with the almost dimmed light in the second work of the scene, reflecting the quiet nature of the scene.

After her father’s death in 1750, S. Troost contributed to the family’s finances by continuing to sell her artwork. In addition, she began teaching drawing to multiple apprentices, including her cousin Christina Chalon (1749–1808). In 1778, at the age of 46, she married the physician Jacob Ploos van Amstel (1735–1784). During her career, she moved in well-to-do and artistic circles due to her familial connections, including the extensive network of her father as well as her brother-in-law, the painter and art collector Cornelis Ploos van Amstel (1726–1789).

In his notes, art dealer Christiaan Josi (1768–1828), who was her friend and executor, attested to her artistic talent and the substantial income she earned from selling her artwork. The enduring appreciation of her work serves as a lasting testament to her talent to this day.